Posts Tagged ‘Web Design’

Experts say that the most successful search engine optimization (SEO) efforts should begin before a character of code is written for a website. Every step of the way, SEO considerations must be addressed.

Keyword research, strategic planning, and a careful eye kept on web development tools are all part of the game for web designers hoping to successfully integrate search engine optimization (SEO) into their project, according to Eric Enge of Search Engine Watch. Enge also warns prospective webmasters that sites with effective SEO will require large quantities of quality content, or at the very least, smaller quantities of superlative content.

Enge recommends that two basic questions be answered before any work is done on a new or revamped website: First, what is the purpose of the website? And how does the firm that owns the website plan to market it? Poorly-planned and optimized sites are one potential consequence of a failure to answer these questions, according to Enge.

Search giant Google recently released an array of helpful tools for web developers, which could ease web design and make for more effective search engine optimization (SEO).

Resources:

Google Webmaster Tools

Every web site needs a good web design and in fact there is so much scarcity of good web design that people are eager to pay premium price to make sure that their web sites are attractive as well as easy to use. So if you have an eye for good design and you are comfortable with learning new technologies then you can make a good living designing web sites for various clients.

To become a web designer you need to be able to tick the following boxes?

• You will need excellent communication skills in order to promote your website design services.

• You will need to keep abreast of emerging web technologies and be able to implement them as necessary.

• You should be able to demonstrate your skills with current web design software.

• You should have some working knowledge of HTML, CSS, and a bit of scripting.

• You should definitely be artistically inclined or know some people who can create great layouts.

• And it obviously helps if you know Photoshop, Flash etc.

If you can tick all the boxes and are confident that you have the necessary skill set then one of the first things you will need to plan for is your own website to get you started in the web design business. If you can put together some client testimonials these will definitely increase your conversions. You will require a convincing copy on your main page and good content on other pages. Competing on the search engines for web design frankly is going to be a tough nut to crack but somewhere you will have to make a beginning. You can either hire and SEO Company to increase your search engine visibility or you can on your own spend some months optimizing your website.

You will also need to consider the more mundane housekeeping items, such as:

• Local advertising and marketing (formulating a marketing strategy).

• Stationery pack including letterheads, compliment slips etc.

• Setting up a business bank account.

It is also a good idea to have freelancers (particularly in areas where your own skill set is weaker) available to undertake work that you are unable to complete yourself for whatever reason.

Now, to the important stuff – what do your clients expect from you as a web designer?

• Great designing abilities.

• Ability to create pleasing color themes.

• Writing W3C compliant code and possibly no errors.

• Knowledge of manipulating graphics and images * Working knowledge of JavaScript and other scripting languages.

• Exceptional service. Transparent communication.

Whilst some may add low cost in to the mix, in my experience clients that appreciate an excellent service understand that more time is involved and are prepared to pay a higher cost (but this is only the case if they are aware of the extra value you intend to give them).

What makes a good web site design? Is it a design that showcases your prowess? Can a website design that prove what an excellent graphic designer you are? Will your website design bring you more designing awards? Or do you want your website design to establish a platform for you and your visitors to interact with each other unhindered by usability problems? What do you think? Is the last point the most important factor that establishes the basic difference between a successful and an unsuccessful website?

The criteria for good web design depends upon the person and the purpose of each site. That said there are some established conventions that you are advised to follow to ensure that your completed site has as wide a reach as possible. When you are designing your website, especially these days, you have to be constantly conscious of the fact that there are numerous browsers and numerous devices that people may use to access your website. No longer do people browse the Internet just through their PCs and laptops; there are many handheld devices that can directly connect to the Internet and enable people to browse your website; people can even browse your website using their mobile phones. The days when 99$ of the population used Internet Explorer as their primary browser are far behind us.

What are you showcasing or what is the main focus of your site as this will drive the overall design of your site: will it be just text or images or videos or a mixture of all these? You have to design your website accordingly. If it is merely text that you plan to publish then try to make it as less graphical as possible as people coming to your website will be interested in your text and not your images and videos. Similarly a website showcasing your Flash animation expertise will expect lots of Flash work so you needn’t worry about making your website textually accessible.

So when you are designing your website you have to take all these parameters into consideration. But does it mean that you’re always accommodating browsers and devises and do not focus on your own business, whatever that is? No, I’m not suggesting that. Just take care of the following website design guidelines and you will make sure that 95% people (well, there will always be those odd 5% who can never browse the web easily no matter what they try) surfing the Internet can access your website:

1. Create a lighter design. Where possible do not overuse either Javascripts of Flash thataffect the major functionality of your site, including menus. For instance if there is some crucial information on your website and people need to access that information before doing business with you then don’t make that information accessible only through a JavaScript on an image file or a Flash animation. It goes without saying that possible you important text should be available as text and not images, if this is not possible then you need to consider image replacement techniques.
2. Don’t use colors that cause strain to the eyes. If you want people to come to yourwebsite again and again and consume your content or do business with you then you must make their stay over your website as pleasant as possible. No matter how awesome your design looks if the color combinations are strain-full, after a while they will tire of your website and stop coming. Always take care that your background behind the text is far lighter than the text, and vice versa.
3. Plan a carefully considered (from the user’s perspective) navigation system. If you havemultiple pages on your website then there should be a prominently defined navigation system that is easily accessible to everybody. As mentioned above don’t let your navigation depend on images, JavaScripts, or Flash animation. If possible create just a text-based navigation bar. With CSS designing you can create great looking navigation bars.
4. Design your website using CSS because then you can make your content and yournavigation bar appears in a linear fashion. Since all the layout-related placements take place through CSS definitions no matter how your text appears texturally, graphically it will appear as a pleasant layout. The CSS designing techniques also enable you to dabble with intricate layouts without making your website inaccessible. CSS designing will always help you arrange your main content before the navigation link despite making it visually appear beneath the navigation bar or to the right of it. Follow these basic web design principles and you will have a good website design to boast of. Never forget that the main purpose of your site design should be to create a good user experience for your visitors, the design is not there to indulge your design whims and fancies, so do not get caught up in the temptation to over complicate things unnecessarily.