Website Design Planning

When designing or redesigning a website the most important part of the project happens before any graphics or code are created.

Start by determining the primary goals of your website. Are you using it to sell your products or services? Maybe it’s intended simply to advertise your offline business, provide support to your existing customers or build your company brand. Whatever the goals are, clearly defining them ahead of time will better guide you in the actual creation process.

Next, remember that first impressions mean everything. Your website design must be professional and portray the right image for your business. Most web surfers decide within seconds of reaching your main page if they will browse deeper into your site or click away to another. Studies have shown that this decision is usually made based on the appeal of the design rather than the text copy. This means that your site design has to grab their attention and convince them that you’re offering something of value fast.

Chances are you’re not a graphic designer or web coding guru, so how can you develop a professional design? We get asked this question a lot by potential clients, especially from owners of home-based or new small businesses.

You basically have two options, hire a professional designer or firm to create your website or purchase a website template. Templates are pre-made designs that allow you to just add your text and product graphics. Templates have the advantage of being able to go live with your website quickly and usually for a very low cost, however they also have the disadvantage of being seen on numerous websites, so you won’t stand out from the crowd as well.

Either way, keep in mind that your website design is what most online visitors to your site are going to judge your company on, regardless of your industry, so it must be as professional as possible.

December 5, 2009 · Filed Under Website Design

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Website Design Myths

Website design is the first step towards registering an online presence. There are many myths surrounding it. Some of the common myths surrounding the web design are:

1. Use of maximum colours will help in making the site beautiful.
Pleasing website design is important to attract a web visitor. But many times web designer believes that using maximum colours will add value to the website. Whereas in reality myriad of colours may spoil the outlook of website. Also there are chances of these web visitors getting irritated with the use of too many colours. So the website designer should always use the colours that go well the theme and purpose of the website. Maximum 2 or 3 colours should be used to during web design and always those colours should not hinder the visibility of the website.

2. Adding too much graphics is helpful.

It is true that graphics will make communication easier, but over use of graphics may make it difficult. Many times website developer believes that using too many graphics will add believability to their website. Graphics can be utilised to lend the believability to webpage but more of it may prove intrusive. The page carrying heavy graphics takes lot of time to load. Web design which is spun around simple and easily loading graphics is always loved by the visitor.

3. Flash is necessary to add attractiveness to the website.

Flash is widely used to create advertisement banners and animations during website design. Flash banners can serve their desired purpose only if they are used efficiently and sparingly. As these flash banners may add believability to particular web design, but they have many disadvantages as well. Flash banners can be easily downloaded only if you are connected to high speed connection. When web designer uses too many frames to describe a simple animation then it doesn’t enhances the purpose of website rather it hinders it. A bad decision from website developer is enough to convert the site into trash like using too many frames or duplicating the background in every frame etc. Web designer should remember that not all people have flash pluggins installed in their computer so people may lose their patience if they are asked to download pluggins first to view your site. So web developer should provide the option of non flash version along with the flash version, which allows the web visitor to browse through the information.

4. Website will look same in all browsers.

Even after designing some successful websites many web developers love to believe that the website will look same everywhere as it appears on their pc. Whereas in reality different website browser perceive HTML pages in different manner. So website developer should always make it sure that the website is optimised with web standards adopted by different browsers. Also the web resolution varies from pc to pc. Some may prefer to view the website in 1024 X 768 resolutions whereas some may view the website in 800 X 600 resolutions. Most of the web visitors love to view the website in 800 X 600 resolutions, so the web designer should ensure that the website looks good even in that resolution. The width of the tables should be set in percentage rather than in pixels. If the website designer decides to use pixels in any of the website design then it becomes difficult for the viewer to scroll left and right to view the website properly. So to avoid such circumstances during web development the website developer should use percentage while giving assigning the properties to the table because it will help the viewer to view the website properly in any resolution.

The website designer should always remember that website is designed for the visitor.

December 4, 2009 · Filed Under Website Design

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Website Design And Content Management

Web design or Web development has become immensely popular over the last few years. In these short few years, many new code standards, technology and design concepts have come to the fore. There has also been an immense amount of knowledge distribution and with it the demand for more functional and independent web design packages and tools.

The knowledge distribution has also led to shift in demand to the content management systems which facilitate content updates. These updates have become immensely necessary to keep the consumer’s interest for visiting the web site again and again and also to keep the consumer abreast with latest happenings regarding the company and its products and services.

CMS or Content Management Systems are becoming more and more popular with web design organizations. They have come to realize that CMS is the future of web site design and may be left behind in the industry if they do not begin offering CMS services.

CMS does not in any way spell doom to web designers. CMS certainly saves the company’s time it spends on web design and allows tem to put more efforts into marketing. CMS gives the company the freedom it needs by providing them with an ability to update the site when needed, not when convenient. CMS also saves the company’s costs by not having to run to the web designer every time an update is needed.

Any typical CMS consists of the following features:

- Provides an interface to Add/remove/edit pages.
- Provides easy interface to update content of each page.
- Capability to add or remove images where needed.
- Interface to update contact information.
- Display updated listings (ex: Mortgage and interest rates).
- Facilitates addition of news on the industry everyday.

Inference

A web design organization should seriously consider offering CMS to their clients to prepare for the future. It is still at a nascent stage, so if a web design and development organization is considering developing a customised CMS and marketing it, they can still see success in the near future.

December 3, 2009 · Filed Under Website Design