Monday, April 27, 2009

Top 6 Worst Website and Web Design Mistakes You Must Avoid For Online Success!

How often are you browsing online and you come to a website and leave immediately on the look of the site? If you're a normal person, then that happens a lot. The challenge as website owners and web developers is to retain people on your site and to get them to take action! It's important to think of everyone that is viewing your website. Not everyone will be using the same browsers like Internet Explorer and people will have different aspect ratios meaning your website might not look the same on each computer. There are 6 deadly mistakes that you need to stay away from for website design. About 85% of websites make at least one of these deadly mistakes so make sure that you read this and keep your website mistake free!

1. Side to Side Scrolling - The last thing you want is your website to be too wide for people to view it all without having to scroll from side to side. People are programmed to scroll up and down on websites, not side to side. This causes a lot of frustration with web browsers and frustration equals them clicking the back button. You'll want to make sure that when your website is built that your design isn't too wide. So what is a comfortable size for website width? All of the websites that we build are 800 pixels wide. If you stick to this then you don't have to worry about anyone having to scroll from side to side.

2. Left Aligned Websites - Left aligned sites look unprofessional and outdated. I see a lot of websites that are aligned to the left and they just don't look right. On some computers they will appear to be aligned centered because of that computer's settings but on computers that have higher aspect ratios they will appear on the left. Don't overlook the simplicity of making sure your website is centered and not aligned left.

3. Having No Background or Boarders - Since we are on the topic of configuring your website for all computers you should have a background that can be duplicated on the sides for people that view websites with high ratios. You don't want to have a website that has plain white boarders on both sides. It looks and unprofessional and very amateur. Make sure you set your background image to be expandable no matter what the pixel size is. A good example of a cool but simple background would be http://www.mlb.com

4. Using Obscure Fonts - You'll want to stay away from fancy obscure fonts on your website for two reasons. The first is because they can be difficult to read and you want to keep everything simple for people viewing your site. The second is because if the person viewing your website doesn't have the font that you desire downloaded on their computer then they will see it in a different font. This means that you loose control over the look of your website. Now, you can set it up to have backup fonts, meaning if they don't have the first font downloaded then it will go to the next one that you specify. For example, if you want your site to be shown in Myriad Pro but a user doesn't have that font on their computer then they will see it in Verdana. Now you can do that with specialty fonts but it's not advised because each font's size isn't the same as another. Meaning you will never have full control over the look of your site. For that reason you'll want to stay with the standard fonts that everyone has on their computers. Verdana is my favor because it seems easiest to read, but other good choices are Arial, Times New Roman, Helvetica, Courier, and Geneva.

5. Poor Navigation - the best rule for websites is known as the "3-click rule." This means that any webpage is accessible to any other webpage on your site by just three clicks, and no more. When you're setting up your site's navigation or outline pay attention to your link structure and make sure that you're proactively leading your users through the site.

6. Unclear Message or Purpose on Homepage - Have you ever gone to a website and had no idea what it was about or what its purpose was? I'm sure we all have and we all have probably had the same reaction (the back button). That is the ultimate failure in website creation so you want to make sure your website's homepage is upfront and direct about what its purpose is. It must be visible in the upper body of the webpage, which is where the eyes will naturally go on websites.

Follow these simple instructions and you're on your way to a successful website!

Wes Carty is the President of Carty Web Strategies, a web design firm in Los Angeles California. Providing clients with Free Homepage Designs has been the signature of Carty Web Strategies providing superior service by allowing people to view their website before they even purchase anything. Get your free homepage design at, http://www.cartyws.com

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

The Importance of a Well Designed Website

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

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

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

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

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

• Share everything you learn.

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

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

• Make your site easy to read.

• Use interactivity to engage users.

• Make a well-organized site structure.

• Become the expert in your field.

• Have a secure site if you are selling online.

• What's on your web site

• Where to find it.

• How to contact you

• Why they should explore further

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

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

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

Some of the "invisible" includes:

* Architecture

* Technology Choices

* SEO Planning

* Graphic Design

* Programming

* Content Production

* Marketing and Promotion

* Maintenance Strategy

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

For more information on Website Design visit http://www.emarketme.com

Monday, March 30, 2009

Web 2.0 and Its Extended Features

Web 2.0 templates are innovative internet tools for better handling of site content and good quality of web design options. It works for nearly all types and sizes of business organizations whether big, medium or small. This concept creates interest in the user due to the element of innovation added in a well structured manner.

More and more webmasters are referring web 2.0 to their clients because of its reliability factor. Web 2.0 templates are user friendly with many benefits and features of designing like legibility, better presentation, simple, attractive central layout and color surfaces with brighter presentation.

Apart from giving better looking website, you can be assured to get higher quality of technology exceeding CSS, HTML, XML and scripting that is from the server side. Some of the well-known strategies of web 2.0 are SOA architecture, mash up technology, web services that are well-organized for extended application and so on.

Web 2.0 are excellent tools for developing low-cost websites that are high on usability statistics. Instead of investing in expensive commercial image editors usage of shareware and freeware web building tools also yield positive results. Your website can also be hosted by regular internet service provider, thus no need for dedicated web hosting service provider.

Now-a-days you would find web 2.0 is playing vital role in website development. You can say its a next generation technology for excellent development of web. In starting, those new to this concept can consider using web 2.0 templates.

Using this technology is a matter of pride in the field on website design. You can make use of various website designing aspects of importance like easy usage, content diversity, deep and inner layout, better color contrasts and so on.

Web 2.0 gives you the chance of designing websites with mind blowing effects making it visually appealing. It enables you to draw some artistic design patterns that can very well grab customer's attention and keep them glued to your website for longer time duration.

Web 2.0 enables you to use content of larger font size on the web page, also you can highlight the important keywords with bigger font size. Logo designing is also benefited by web 2.0 designs. You can design logos of bigger size for business promotion, increasing the visibility of your company. You can get simple website design with web 2.0 yet fulfilling requirements of a well-structured and appealing one with specialized features.

Copyright © 2009

SPINX Website Design Los Angeles based firm offers website design San Diego, celebrities website designer, website design San Francisco, web 2.0 templates, website design Santa Barbara, best web design & much more.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Create a Website For Clientele and Friends

With the Internet growing bigger every day, a website can be a very useful tool. A small business should create a website in order to expand their clientele and bring awareness of their company. Even someone can create a website to keep family and friends updated with his life.

As you would expect, there is a cost to creating a website. A domain name is purchased on a yearly or monthly basis. The buyer selects the name they would like to buy. Sometimes a buyer can not get the name they would like because someone else already owns it.

When someone creates a website, he faculty essential to resolve if he wants it to be showy and spendthrift or obovate. Either way, a somebody faculty essential to hear how to do both charitable of web programme or live how to realise and use hypertext markup communication (HTML). There are more website that blackbeard how to use HTML for anyone at any age. Also, depending on how often someone wants to pass, there are group who leave programme the website for a fee.

Developing an internet site for a firm results in significant effects on the business it transacts. Virtually everybody makes use of the Net nowadays, so it's the way to make potential clients know your enterprise exists. As they learn about your merchandise and/or services, they are obviously more likely to purchase something from you. Your business will become more profitable, generally outweighing the cost of your domain name. And selling online makes it simple for your clientele to get the items they desire.

There are no limits to what can be put on a website. You can put your favorite videos and share you photos on your website. They are great tool to keep family and friends updated about your life. People worldwide can visit your site and see your photos. A website can also be used for messages and message boards.

Overall, when someone chooses to create a website, a door of opportunities is opened. A business can use a website to expand the company. In addition, people can make personal websites to write about their lives to keep their family and friends updated on their lives. Videos and pictures can be uploaded to websites. However, there is a small fee to own a website.

With the Internet growing bigger every day, a web site can be a very useful tool. A small business should create a website in order to expand their clientele. Someone can even create a site to keep family and friends updated with his life. As the old saying goes, you cannot get something for nothing. There is a regular expense associated with operating a web site. That cost includes upkeep and expenses to maintain ownership of your site name. Remember, you get to choose your domain name, but the Internet has been around long enough that your first choice may already be gone!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Create a Website Simply and Easily

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saturday, February 7, 2009

What Does a Website Design Need to Become Successful?

How often do you browse the internet and find a page and quickly leave only to not read their content or view any of their pages? This happens all too often on the internet each and every day. This is because of tacky or unattractive web design that is not easy to navigate. Why have a web page if no one is really going to read it? They might have excellent content but if things do not look attractive you will quickly leave. There are a lot of elements that make a good web site design. A good web page should be dynamic, attractive, and easy to navigate.

Dynamics and Attractions Go Along Way

You need to find a way to make your site interactive because people want to interact. Think of it this way; what reason would your user have to come back? A good way people are making web site dynamic are by applying ASP.NeT, PHP, C#, AJAX, Javascript, etc. You site should use an effective color palette that is appropriate for your audience. Also, your page should not be all static unless it is just exceptional content. Static web pages are boring and way over used on the internet. Nothing is more unattractive than clashing colors that compete with each other. Also, make sure that the design works in every web browser and under the most common resolutions.

Typography Is Vital To Your Web Design

Design in print and in web design relies around the same principles. Readability and effective type can make or break a design. I would recommend that you use no more than 3 different fonts. This includes just three types of fonts too. For example Arial Bold is one and Arial Italic is another. Ask anyone who knows about design; a novice graphic designer or web site designer does not know typography. The size needs to be adjusted accordingly and with clarity. Make blocks of content rather than having a 150 line paragraph. I try to make spaces between ever six lines to help with readability. Make sure you make proper use of CAPS and do not over use them.

Navigation Is Key

Everything should be laid out consistently on your site. All the buttons should be in the same exact spot on every single page. If the user is hunting and searching just to find their desired content on your page; chances are they will just get frustrated and leave. A lot of people underestimate the power of an easily navigational web site.

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Thursday, January 29, 2009

Custom Website Design Keeps You Ahead of the Competition

If you are considering a website for your business, there are a few things to do first. Take a look at what your competitors are doing. You will find that many have great websites, while others could use some work. What you need to consider when building your website is who you will compete against. You want your local business to stand out over the competition, so you should make your online presence stand out as well. For this reason, you should consider custom website design. Don't opt for the same old same old cookie cutter templates in use all over the internet.

You need to hire a custom website design company that can provide you with a completely unique look. Your custom website design should include your logo, tag line, and personal contact information. When considering a custom website design company, you should mull over a few things. A good custom website design company will be able to create custom banners for your site and upload high quality pictures. The pictures used on your site should be individually owned by you, not just clip art from a software program. You also need to consider the layout of your page. It needs to be user friendly and easy to navigate. Your customers should never feel frustrated when trying to find information.

By using a custom website design company, you can often save yourself time and money on the process. Unless you are an expert web designer with all the software required, hiring a company will be easier. The cost to buy the software for building a website can often cost more than paying for a site to be built and it can take ten times longer to get the job done, especially if you have very little experience. Most custom website design companies can start from scratch, design your logo, develop your layout, and have your site live in just a short time. You can also hire the company to maintain your custom website design for a longer period of time. This can be very helpful if you are constantly changing products or services that your company offers. With a quick phone call or email, you can have your website updated in no time.

Using a professional company to design your website can also help you get higher rankings in the search engines. Since these companies know how to build your website in a search engine friendly manner, you will have a higher rank than those people who have no idea how the process works. Having a website online is only half of the battle to attracting new customers; you also have to make sure you are found when someone is looking for your services or products. For this reason, using a professional company is probably the best way to go. Don't waste your time and money building a website that will not attract new customers. You would never build a car from scratch, with no experience, and assume it would work. You trust the experts to build it correctly and ensure it operates the way it should. Having your website designed is the same concept; don't go at it blindly and expect results.

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