Facts About Web Design

Web design is the art of developing presentations of content that is eventually delivered to end user via the World Wide Web. The presentations are usually in the form of hypertext or hypermedia and are transmitted to the World Wide Web with aid of a web browser or any other software that that is compatible for web applications such as microblogging clients, Internet television clients as well as RSS readers.

Design is aimed at creating a web site. A web site is a compilation of electronic files that are used a on a web server or servers. The electronic files are used to present various contents as well as interactive features or interfaces to end users in the form of web pages the moment a command request is sent. This capability in design enables a multiplicity of element such as bit-mapped images (in formats such as.gif and.jpeg), text, and forms to be placed on the particular page using a variety of applications such as hyper text markup language (HTML), XML and XHTML tags. In order to display more intricate media such as videos, sounds, animations, and vector graphics, the person involved in design has to incorporate a variety of specialized add-on as such as QuickTime, Flash and the Java run-time environment among other applications. Such activities also require plug-ins to be embedded into the web page by making use of HTML or XHTML tags.

New strategies have seen significant improvements in the compliance of browsers with W3C standards. This has led to a general acceptance and application of XHTML and XML methods in combination with Cascading Style Sheets (that is CSS) to place and manipulate the objects and elements contained in a web page. The latest proposals and standards in web design are aimed at enabling any given browser to produce a side array of media as well as accessibility alternatives to the client without necessarily having to employ plug-ins. This has made web design not only advanced but also enjoyable. In web design, web pages are generally classified into two major groups. The pages can be either dynamic or static. As the name implies, static pages do not change their content as well as layout every time a request is made. Changes to such pages can only be made when a person with expertise in web design - such as a web master or web programmer updates the particular page or pages manually.

On the other hand, dynamic web pages adjust their content as well as appearance depending on the end user's input commands or interaction. Changes in dynamic web pages can also occur due to the settings of the computer environment as formulated in the process of web design. Such settings include time, user preference, data modifications and so forth. The web page content can be modified from the client's side (that is the end user's computer) through applying script languages related to the client side. Such languages are commonly used in web design and include Actionscript, JavaScript, JScript, and many others. The languages are specifically used to change DOM settings by use of DHTML. Dynamic content is very important in web design since it is often times complies with the server that uses server-side scripting language formats such as PHP, Perl, ASP, ColdFusion, and JSP. Both ways of changing the contents of dynamic web pages involve complex web design applications.

Web design is a growing field and this is necessitated by the increasing knowledge in information technology. As a result, a line has been drawn between this field and other related fields such as web development and web programming.

More on Web Design

When to Say No to DIY Web Design and When to Get Web Design Services

Many website owners, especially those with limited marketing budgets, are tempted to design their websites it alone instead of hiring a professional to do provide web design services. After all, there are free tools available online, and free tutorials to show them how these tools are used. So what should stop them from taking the initiative when it comes to web design?

Well, here's what should stop them: in the ideal world-a world where websites work-it takes a lot more than putting together text and graphics together to create a decent website. It also requires the special technical knowledge of how to process your text and graphics, combine them, and transform them into code so that they can function the way they are supposed to function.

Designing and coding are two different things. And this is why professional web design services providers usually have two teams working on the same project: one to design the look and feel of the web site, and one to translate this look and feel into code. The output of these two processes combined is the website that we read and click on to find information.

If you feel that your website is lacking in either one, then it is probably time to throw in the towel, pick up the phone and call the professional. If budget is an issue, it still should not stop you from exploring your options. There are a lot of professional web designers who can work within a budget. In addition, as a general rule, website building and designing is a scalable service, so it should be easy for you to plan on what you need and what you don't to keep your expenses in check.

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The Advantage to Choosing a Local Web Designer

Web designers are not hard to come by. In fact, over 75,000 people now claim the title "web designer" in the United States alone, a big jump from a few years ago. Why? Because more and more businesses are needing to expand their presence on the internet. In this economy, how else are businesses going to find new customers?

With website designers near and far charging a range of prices, it makes the selection a tricky process. Which technologies will you need for your website? How proficient will the designer need to be? Do all web designers know the same things? And how should a designer's proficiency be tested? These are all important questions, especially as it relates to the amount of money you'll ultimately pay.

When it comes to choosing a website designer, there are many factors that should be taken into consideration, but none is as important as communication. This is why choosing a local web designer is imperative. When you hire someone to create your company's online visual identity for you, you're not just taking on a painter to paint your house, you're entrusting in that person your business ideas and your methods for interacting with your customers. This person will have to have a very clear sense of what type of feel you'd like to convey and what type of market you're targeting.

The hiring of a website designer is akin to the starting of a relationship. By communicating with each other and bouncing ideas off of each other and being able to count on each other to try new tactics, you'll be able to represent your brand as effectively and clearly as possible. This is best achieved by meetings in person rather than distant phone conversations or emails. After all, you'll want to count on this person if your site needs an update. This is why it's good to go for someone local as opposed to someone far away.

Chris Beaman is a Boston-based web designer and front end developer. Find him online at: http://chrisbeaman.com or on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/cgbeaman

11 Reasons Why You Need to Create a Website For Your Business

Building a website for your business is a very crucial step to a successful online future. Here are 11 benefits of having a website for your business if you are a beginner.

1. You website is available 24 7 365 - no need to open or close your store, your website is like another office that opens 24 hours. With a website, you can literally make money while you sleep.

2. Convenient for your customer - people shop online more and more everyday since technology allows us to become lazier. Who want to get up, drive your car through traffics, walk around the mall, drive yourself back through traffics...that is a lot of time to waste.

3. Credibility and professional image - if you don't have a website, people will think your business is not 'real' and decide not to buy your products. Building a website will help you enhance the trusts in your potential customers.

4. The future is automation - a website is a self-service medium where people can do all the shopping, check out by themselves. You can save lots money by not hiring employees for your store.

5. Cheaper than print advertising - your website costs are not that much compare to other means of business promotion. You website also have a longer existent time thus more exposure to potential clients.

6. Easily changed or modified - you can change details on your website anytime you like. It is much easier to change the price of the products, special offers, remove less profitable products, update contact information... You can't do that with flyers or brochures.

7. Can be found by search engine - when customers look for products they want, your website can reach your clients through search engine by using keyword optimization.

8. Target wider audience around the world - you can have a more diverse customer base because anybody can access your information anywhere and anytime.

9. Growth opportunity - you can attract future investors to your website when your business grow.

10. Easy customer feedback - customers can leave comments and feedbacks about your product, you can communicate with them easier and free through emails

11. No need to buy upfront stock - save lots of money by not buying lots of stock for your store. You can send your customer directly to the specific product they want to buy. For a small business opportunity, building a website is what you must do.

If you don't have a website for you business yet, click here to Create your first website
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3 Website Pitfalls Most Dental Practices Overlook

Marketing your dental practice online is a measurable, cost-effective strategy for reaching customers on their terms. The people who need your help are looking for you online. With the right approach, you can encourage them to visit your website, contact your office and set up appointments. In order to accomplish that goal, you must have a website that meets several design and marketing parameters. Most dentists don't, and their websites languish in obscurity.

A well-designed dental website should practically eliminate the labor-intensive marketing efforts most dentists focus upon. Below, we'll share three common website pitfalls that ensnare many dental practices.

#1 - Trying To Impress Visitors With Your Dental Website

Few factors can sabotage your site's ability to increase your case acceptance as quickly as unnecessary flash and glitz. Prospective patients will often turn away from dental websites that are stylish to the point of being intimidating. Your site should coax potential patients to explore your services, rather than seem daunting to them.

That's not to suggest that style is unimportant. On the contrary, a professional design is critical. It helps your dental practice exude confidence, talent and proficiency. The key is to find the perfect balance between "too much style" and "just enough to coax them into contacting you."

#2 - Failing To Make Your Dental Website Search Engine Friendly

Google, Yahoo!, and Bing! continue to attract millions of people each day. Many of these people are in your community, looking for a dental practice they can trust. In fact, the trend to find local dentists online has grown dramatically over the last several years. This gives you an enormous opportunity to leverage the search engines in order to reach new patients who live near your office.

The problem is, most dental websites are designed in a way that makes it difficult for search engines to index and rank them properly. Sometimes, the issue is structural; the architecture of the site may prevent "spidering" by the search engines. Other times, the problem is a lack of relevance; the search engines are unable to determine the site's topic.

If Google, Yahoo!, and MSN cannot find, index and rank your site properly, many of your potential patients will be unable to find you. An effective dental website must be search engine friendly.

#3 - Neglecting To Educate Patients

Many people are tentative about visiting dentists because they're uncertain about what to expect. That uncertainty breeds procrastination. For example, a person might be experiencing a dull, throbbing pain in his tooth, yet be nervous about potential treatment strategies. Or, a person might be interested in enjoying a more attractive smile, yet remain unaware about her options. The less informed people are, the less likely they are to set an appointment with your office.

Your dental website is an ideal platform from which to educate those who need your services. Regardless of when someone visits your site, that person can explore a library of useful information that carefully describes the procedures you offer. By educating your patients, you'll give them a level of comfort. And that encourages them to make an appointment.

Bonus Pitfall: Not Allowing Patients To Make An Appointment Online

Most dental websites do not allow patients to set appointments online. Instead, they force people to call. Not only is this inconvenient for the patient, but it's also inefficient for the dental practice. Your site should give patients the flexibility to request appointments online. Once a request is submitted to your office, your staff can call the patient to confirm the date and time.

Designing and maintaining a website that effectively promotes your dental practice requires that you deftly sidestep a number of pitfalls. The effort is worthwhile. A well-designed dental website will attract more people and coax them to contact your office.

Chris Harmen writes for Officite, a medical website design firm that creates medical and dental web sites that are user-friendly and search engine optimized.

Web Design - 10 Tips to Make Your Website User-Friendly

Other than a nice design and excellent content, a good website must also be user-friendly. When you make life easier for people who visit your website, they will stay on your site longer and more likely to take action. Therefore, usability of a website is extremely important.

When someone visits your website, he or she will want to easily find what they are looking for. If your website makes it difficult for them to find what they are looking for, they will leave your site and go to your competitors. Now, let me share with you 10 tips to make your website user friendly.

1. Make sure your images don't take away all the focus. If you want your website visitors to take action, you need to make sure that they are presented with the right information. Don't make them think.

2. Use powerful headlines. Great headlines capture the attention of people. So ensure your headlines are interesting to get people to read the rest of the content on the page.

3. Choose the right font size and color. The text on your website should be easy to read. Try to use a white background for your website.

4. Make sure that your navigation bar is prominent and easy to use. First-time visitors to your website must be able to navigate to key pages within 1 to 2 clicks.

5. For text, don't use images. Search engines cannot read the words in an image and this will affect your search engine rankings. So always use text for your content.

6. Use captions on images in case they don't show up on browser.

7. Always provide contact information on your website so that your prospect can contact you easily.

8. Include a sitemap. Sitemap makes it easy for Google and website visitors to find other pages of your site.

9. Proof read the content on your website. Before you publish your website online, you should get someone else to proof read the content for you. Frequent spelling and grammar mistakes turn people off.

10. Keep multimedia and image file size to the minimal. Large file sizes make your site loads slower and this can be a great turn off to people who have slower internet connection.

Website usability is something you cannot compromise when it comes to web design and development. So make sure that your web designers know about the points mentioned above.

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

Check out more web design portfolio here.

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Making the Best Landing Page

A landing page is basically the page that a potential customer arrives to after clicking an advertisement or a search engine result link. This specific page contains additional information regarding the product or service being advertised. It shows the visitor the benefits and advantages he can get once he decides to follow through and avail of the product or service being advertised.

Usually, when potential customers are redirected to the homepage of an advertisement, they spend a few seconds reading whatever they first set their eyes on and eventually if they don't see what they need to do immediately they hit the back button to move on to find other competitors. What a landing page aims to do is to capture the attention of the visitor and guide them on what to do next. This is done by pointing out what benefits he can get presented in short phrases but strong enough to make the visitor click through and come nearer to closing the deal with the advertiser. Landing pages can contain a list of specific links that is related to the advertising that the visitor clicked on. For example, the visitor clicked an ad regarding loans, the landing page that he gets redirected to may contain links to various loan applications online. The visitor then has the option of choosing a link that is best suited to the type of loan that he needs. Another strategy that landing pages provide is that it makes signing up for the said product or service easier.

A landing page may contain a sign-up form requesting important information regarding the customer. This part of the landing page states what happens next after the customer gives the information. Some landing pages automatically redirect the customer to the sales page and asks for more information and at the final click of a button a sale has been made. While some landing pages offer to add the customer to their mailing list in order to receive a daily newsletter or other e-mailing campaigns that the advertiser uses.

Bruce Tucker has been in the field of internet marketing,SEO and landing pages for a long time with a web site about Landing Pages and with a blog that is all about Landing Pages that you would find interesting.