FIVE SECONDS... that’s how long you have to capture the attention of a website visitor. Does your website engender trust, credibility and reliability within 5 seconds? Site visitors are impatient people seeking immediate gratification … they want to ooh and ahh … even before the page is fully loaded.
I've been designing websites since 1995, in the hey-day before Google, Yahoo and Web 2.0. The one thing that has not changed is the user; they want their information faster. If they have a 28K modem, they want the information at the speed of 56K. If they have DSL, they want it to load at cable modem speeds. A Web Designer has to take this into consideration when designing a site. At the same time, they have to create a site that captures the attention of the visitor and prompt them to interact with the site, and even buy something or fill out a form (the goals of the website).
User-friendly web design always begins with the visual effect.
COLORS
Colors are a “primary” factor. Most sites are designed with a white background and black fonts. This combination is eye-friendly for a comfortable reading environment. Eye strain is a definite no-no. If you want your visitors to read text, make it as easy as possible … that starts with the right color combination.
The obvious potential exception would be an entertainment site with a high reliance on multi-media video and photos. Different color combinations may be desirable here for emphasis and enhancing the entertainment value of the site.
The Psychology of Color
Check these 3 sites out for great insights on how psychology and color work together:
1. http://www.squidoo.com/colorexpert
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_psychology
3. http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html
Entertainment sites are about emotion, passion, energy, enthusiasm. Colors to be used are always strong. For instance black is used for Power and Authority while red is used to evoke passion, high energy and enthusiasm.
A business site, for instance a mortgage company, should not use the color scheme I suggest in the entertainment sites. Here I use blues and greens as these colors evoke trust, peace of mind and a sense of calm. The visitor is considered to be nervous entering the site because they are making a decision about pretty important things like their home, their money and their overall finances. They need someone they can trust.
LAYOUT
Layouts begin and end with simplicity. Make the site complex with a lot of so-called “features” and you will lose a great deal of your audience.
With layouts, “less is more” … the fewer feature or complexities, the easier it is for the visitor to understand your message and “engage.”
It’s always a good idea to check out your competition and see what it is you actually like about their website … view it as a customer not just a competitor … it can be a useful experience.
Always keep in mind the ultimate goal of your website … what is it you want the visitor to actually do … your layout should reflect the shortest distance between the first impression of your website and that ultimate goal you seek.
Additional Key Considerations
1. Simple Site Navigation is a must. Your visitor has to be able to move through the site quickly and in a logical sequence that they have become used to when visting other websites. They want their info fast and if your navigation goes against the generally accepted conventions of navigation, the visitor will move elsewhere.
2. Make your paragraphs easy to read... organize your information well by highlighting lists by number, symbols or bullets.
3. Look throughout our site and see that paragraphs are not just streams of uninterrupted text. The words, sentences, paragraphs et al are woven together through a structured hierarchy of organizational enhancers that make it easy for the visitor to read and understand and engage.
4. Don’t try to crush your competition with an overwhelming advantage in website features. Remember the Panasonic slogan … "just slightly ahead of our time"... keep this in mind here. Keep your “competitive bullets” in your gun and holster until they are needed. For instance, if your competitor doesn’t have a newsletter sign-up, add it. If they respond by adding one, consider adding a click-to-chat feature and so on and so on.
So, website design is about gaining the attention of the visitor through strong use of color, content, ease of use and navigation. Most of all … KEEP IT SIMPLE!
Optimum7.com is an Internet Marketing Company with primary focus on Small and Mid-Sized Enterprises (SME’s). Optimum7.com offers a rich consultative approach that our clients find refreshing. We actually listen to our clients to learn exactly what their problems and objectives are. Websites and User Friendly Web Designs.
Showing posts with label web design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label web design. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Making Money Online With Website designing
As the years passed by, website designing, its definition and its presentation all have substantial changed. There are several new software like flash, 3D and Photoshop that had been developed and new technologies, such as broadband, to stay as a backup of these software are emerged. In contrast, people have altered the way of screening online information. So the life of the website designing brings along with it a hope of contact with content data and present web designs are all become an element of web designer’s work. Anyhow the basics principles of any website design are yet remain the same. Further it is usual; a website has to be easy to use and should have the capability to keep a viewer to remain enthusiastic to your website as long as necessary. On the other hand, a website designing could be favor you more than your pastime and interest.
There are few best approaches that one could accept if looking to make money online by websites. You can preferably focus on a few websites that could get you reasonable income or one solitary website, which can act as your "bread and butter". Actually, whichever technique you choose it certain to make money. For a novice that trying to make money online by website designing can also be a little irresistible, however if in progress and stay focused then no one can stop your cash flow. So one of the most excellent examples, which could be given is to get started your own auction website design.
When it comes to auction website design, the initial thing could come to anybody’s mind is the auction site called eBay. But why do people admire eBay? The answer is actually simple, it is because of the profession website designed and easy to use and it does not require a rocket scientist to navigate the pages. Today, eBay auction website stands out of other websites and stay the most reliable internet resource for getting what you desire. So here the final point is to come up with your own auction website design like how eBay did and permit users to purchase and sell products through your site. You have to be a foundation for what people wish to purchase and sell.
Alberdecruz is a Copywriter of Web design Houston. He has written various articles like Houston web hosting, Graphic design Houston, Seo Houston and more. For more information visit:Web design company Houston. Contact him at alberdecruzseo@gmail.com.
There are few best approaches that one could accept if looking to make money online by websites. You can preferably focus on a few websites that could get you reasonable income or one solitary website, which can act as your "bread and butter". Actually, whichever technique you choose it certain to make money. For a novice that trying to make money online by website designing can also be a little irresistible, however if in progress and stay focused then no one can stop your cash flow. So one of the most excellent examples, which could be given is to get started your own auction website design.
When it comes to auction website design, the initial thing could come to anybody’s mind is the auction site called eBay. But why do people admire eBay? The answer is actually simple, it is because of the profession website designed and easy to use and it does not require a rocket scientist to navigate the pages. Today, eBay auction website stands out of other websites and stay the most reliable internet resource for getting what you desire. So here the final point is to come up with your own auction website design like how eBay did and permit users to purchase and sell products through your site. You have to be a foundation for what people wish to purchase and sell.
Alberdecruz is a Copywriter of Web design Houston. He has written various articles like Houston web hosting, Graphic design Houston, Seo Houston and more. For more information visit:Web design company Houston. Contact him at alberdecruzseo@gmail.com.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Website Designing: The Accessibility Factor
Today when there is a sea full of websites all over the web world it becomes extremely difficult to sustain a considerable amount of traffic to the site. This threat appears like a killer for any website owner. In order to overcome this threat what websites really need to do is create super duper web presences for themselves. This web presence can be created right from the website designing process itself.
The question now arises why emphasize on presence when you are already there in the web. Even though your website is there it is important to make it accessible to the users because until your website is accessible no user will spend time on your website. This will appear to be a great loss to your business since websites are the most important tool of communication between you and your users and the accessibility of the website is the most essential factor that can keep them glued to your services.
The accessibility factor of a website depends a lot on the user end also. It is possible that your end user is not being able to view your audio or video content because their system does not support such high end services. It is thus advised that web designers keep this factor in mind while doing website designing for a site. It is true that video and audio inputs make the website more attractive and happening, but what is the use of having attraction when essential content itself is being restricted.
Make sure that your website follows a proper style sheet while drawing the HTML format of the website. Though styling and colouring of the website is important and essential to make it look expressive and attractive it is equally important to make sure that the tags that are used on the HTML are properly closed. Even if a single tag is misplaced, the internet will not be able to read your webpage.
In order to make your webpage accessible, it is important that you use them appropriately. Make use of diagrams and tables too. It is not necessary that the diagrams and tables be for decorative use only, you can also use them as a medium to add additional information which will attract the user’s attention more than otherwise.
When a user comes into your website, the first thing they notice about you is the nature, whether you are welcoming or not. Yes a welcoming website can be distinguished from an unwelcoming website from their navigation. A broadly expanded and open navigation is an ideal situation which is most used by welcoming websites. User friendly navigation is the best technique of retaining your clientele using simple website designing.
Naman Jain is an expert in Internet marketing, presently working with Rupiz Media, one of the leading internet marketing company, offering online marketing services, SEO services, email marketing and search engine marketing over the globe.
The question now arises why emphasize on presence when you are already there in the web. Even though your website is there it is important to make it accessible to the users because until your website is accessible no user will spend time on your website. This will appear to be a great loss to your business since websites are the most important tool of communication between you and your users and the accessibility of the website is the most essential factor that can keep them glued to your services.
The accessibility factor of a website depends a lot on the user end also. It is possible that your end user is not being able to view your audio or video content because their system does not support such high end services. It is thus advised that web designers keep this factor in mind while doing website designing for a site. It is true that video and audio inputs make the website more attractive and happening, but what is the use of having attraction when essential content itself is being restricted.
Make sure that your website follows a proper style sheet while drawing the HTML format of the website. Though styling and colouring of the website is important and essential to make it look expressive and attractive it is equally important to make sure that the tags that are used on the HTML are properly closed. Even if a single tag is misplaced, the internet will not be able to read your webpage.
In order to make your webpage accessible, it is important that you use them appropriately. Make use of diagrams and tables too. It is not necessary that the diagrams and tables be for decorative use only, you can also use them as a medium to add additional information which will attract the user’s attention more than otherwise.
When a user comes into your website, the first thing they notice about you is the nature, whether you are welcoming or not. Yes a welcoming website can be distinguished from an unwelcoming website from their navigation. A broadly expanded and open navigation is an ideal situation which is most used by welcoming websites. User friendly navigation is the best technique of retaining your clientele using simple website designing.
Naman Jain is an expert in Internet marketing, presently working with Rupiz Media, one of the leading internet marketing company, offering online marketing services, SEO services, email marketing and search engine marketing over the globe.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
How Can an Effective Web Design Boost Your Business?
These days, it is a cut-throat competition. Unless you take advantage of the resources and the latest technologies right now, you may never be able to make it and eventually compete with other businesspeople in your field. Hence, you have to make sure that you can build your own website.
However, it should not just be any other site composed of multiple pages. You should also ensure that you have implemented an effective website design.
How Your Business Can Gain Something from Good Website Design
Why do you have to focus on your website design? Here are the numerous reasons why. Keep in mind that this list is not exhaustive. Nevertheless, there are the best purposes:
1. A good website design can drive traffic into your site. Whether you like it or not, Internet users will always go for websites that appear neat, easy to navigate, and professional looking. And these are usually the basic benefits that you can derive from having a good website design. The more people going into your website, the higher will be the possibility that you will be able to obtain the kind of sales conversion rate that you have always wanted for your online business.
2. You can generate sales leads from a good design for your website. An efficient web design allows you to build your number of potential customers. This is because you can include a mailing list where they can place their full names and e-mail address, making it real convenient for you to promote your products and services as well as send out news and other updates.
3. You can gain your own spot in search engines. This is also another huge advantage of an effective website design. As a business owner, it should not be sufficient that you can see your website in the Internet. Most of all, you must appear in at least the first pages of search engine results. A professional web designer can implement search engine optimization techniques that can make your web pages extremely friendly search engines such as Google, allowing spiders to index your web pages. You should bank on your maximum visibility.
4. An effective design for your website can help you increase your credibility. In business, it is very essential that you can build a good reputation or credibility not only for yourself but, most of all, for your small business. Otherwise, if people do not trust you, you will not be able to improve your sales, and you cannot even maintain your customer base.
Your web design, however, can increase your credibility. With excellent content to balance the aesthetic value of your web pages, you can provide information to your target market, allowing them to make careful and wise decisions. Your Products and Services page will also help you let your customers know that you can offer everything they need. Most of all, you can steer clear from penalties of search engines. After all, if you are doing web designing right, then you shouldn’t have implemented any online marketing techniques.
John Mahoney is a freelance author who writes about various technology related subjects. For more information about John visit his website:
www.techstore.ie
John Mahoney is a freelance author who writes about various technology related subjects. For more information about John visit his website: http://www.techstore.ie
http://www.techstore.ie
However, it should not just be any other site composed of multiple pages. You should also ensure that you have implemented an effective website design.
How Your Business Can Gain Something from Good Website Design
Why do you have to focus on your website design? Here are the numerous reasons why. Keep in mind that this list is not exhaustive. Nevertheless, there are the best purposes:
1. A good website design can drive traffic into your site. Whether you like it or not, Internet users will always go for websites that appear neat, easy to navigate, and professional looking. And these are usually the basic benefits that you can derive from having a good website design. The more people going into your website, the higher will be the possibility that you will be able to obtain the kind of sales conversion rate that you have always wanted for your online business.
2. You can generate sales leads from a good design for your website. An efficient web design allows you to build your number of potential customers. This is because you can include a mailing list where they can place their full names and e-mail address, making it real convenient for you to promote your products and services as well as send out news and other updates.
3. You can gain your own spot in search engines. This is also another huge advantage of an effective website design. As a business owner, it should not be sufficient that you can see your website in the Internet. Most of all, you must appear in at least the first pages of search engine results. A professional web designer can implement search engine optimization techniques that can make your web pages extremely friendly search engines such as Google, allowing spiders to index your web pages. You should bank on your maximum visibility.
4. An effective design for your website can help you increase your credibility. In business, it is very essential that you can build a good reputation or credibility not only for yourself but, most of all, for your small business. Otherwise, if people do not trust you, you will not be able to improve your sales, and you cannot even maintain your customer base.
Your web design, however, can increase your credibility. With excellent content to balance the aesthetic value of your web pages, you can provide information to your target market, allowing them to make careful and wise decisions. Your Products and Services page will also help you let your customers know that you can offer everything they need. Most of all, you can steer clear from penalties of search engines. After all, if you are doing web designing right, then you shouldn’t have implemented any online marketing techniques.
John Mahoney is a freelance author who writes about various technology related subjects. For more information about John visit his website:
www.techstore.ie
John Mahoney is a freelance author who writes about various technology related subjects. For more information about John visit his website: http://www.techstore.ie
http://www.techstore.ie
Monday, February 11, 2008
Handy Tips For Designing A Good Website
Techno geeks would claim that designing a website is as easy as 1-2-3 with all the available software and programs. With just a few clicks on the computer a website will be “born”. And if it is true that the success of an online business largely depends on the design of the website, why then do some online business fail? Something must be amiss with the design of the website.
Practicing good design principles is a must if you want to have a website that will reach out to potential customer as well as yield the desired sales. The web abounds with graphics and a web designer might be tempted to enhance the appearance of the website by using so many graphics and images. However it is not advisable to load the page with so many pictures as this would slow down the loading of the page. Most internet surfers who uses dial up connections would surely leave a slow loading page and click on the next link. If you really think that a picture is essential to the website it is advisable to use image editing programs. Pictures that will be featured should have a relevance to the content of the website. A picture of your favorite pet would be inappropriate for a website dedicated to dental services.
Another important factor to be considered in web design is to know the target audience. The font used as well as the layout should cater to the prospective audience. The design of the site should have a relevance to the purpose of the website. For example, if the website will sell dog food, it wouldn’t do to incorporate flashy model cars. If the target users of the website belong to the senior group, using the smaller fonts favored by the young generation is not advisable since the senior readers would need to make font modification in their own computers just to read the content of the website.
The page layout is equally important in web design. The front page will serve as the “face” of the business and as such should be able to provide the visitors with information regarding the company and the services and products it offers. The page should be clean and uncluttered with many unnecessary images and bouncing animations. The color of the text should be complimentary to the color of the background for easy reading. It is a known fact that glaring and vibrant colors as well as rotating and bouncing animations could distract readers. And readers who leave the site would mean lost sales.
Easy navigation should be a feature of a company website who wants to achieve marketing success. Nothing is more frustrating to a visitor than a site where the navigation bar is hidden by so many other features. It is comparable to finding a sock from a mound of clothes.
Content of a website should be clear and concise. Surfers are “lazy” individuals and they won’t have the patience to read overly long paragraphs especially if it lacks substance. Keeping it sweet and simple is very appropriate for the content of a website who aims to attract loads of traffic in order to generate more revenues.
Dolphin Promotions are a web design and SEO company based in Blackpool in the UK.
Practicing good design principles is a must if you want to have a website that will reach out to potential customer as well as yield the desired sales. The web abounds with graphics and a web designer might be tempted to enhance the appearance of the website by using so many graphics and images. However it is not advisable to load the page with so many pictures as this would slow down the loading of the page. Most internet surfers who uses dial up connections would surely leave a slow loading page and click on the next link. If you really think that a picture is essential to the website it is advisable to use image editing programs. Pictures that will be featured should have a relevance to the content of the website. A picture of your favorite pet would be inappropriate for a website dedicated to dental services.
Another important factor to be considered in web design is to know the target audience. The font used as well as the layout should cater to the prospective audience. The design of the site should have a relevance to the purpose of the website. For example, if the website will sell dog food, it wouldn’t do to incorporate flashy model cars. If the target users of the website belong to the senior group, using the smaller fonts favored by the young generation is not advisable since the senior readers would need to make font modification in their own computers just to read the content of the website.
The page layout is equally important in web design. The front page will serve as the “face” of the business and as such should be able to provide the visitors with information regarding the company and the services and products it offers. The page should be clean and uncluttered with many unnecessary images and bouncing animations. The color of the text should be complimentary to the color of the background for easy reading. It is a known fact that glaring and vibrant colors as well as rotating and bouncing animations could distract readers. And readers who leave the site would mean lost sales.
Easy navigation should be a feature of a company website who wants to achieve marketing success. Nothing is more frustrating to a visitor than a site where the navigation bar is hidden by so many other features. It is comparable to finding a sock from a mound of clothes.
Content of a website should be clear and concise. Surfers are “lazy” individuals and they won’t have the patience to read overly long paragraphs especially if it lacks substance. Keeping it sweet and simple is very appropriate for the content of a website who aims to attract loads of traffic in order to generate more revenues.
Dolphin Promotions are a web design and SEO company based in Blackpool in the UK.
Monday, January 14, 2008
AdSense Ready Business Template 017
I have just created another Free Business Website Template for you to download.
It is nice three column CSS website template with tabbed navigation. Template is SEO friendly, very easy to customize and can be used for various projects.
Template is 100% XHTML 1.0 Strict and CSS Valid.
Download this free CSS Template, get some content, insert your AdSense code and start earning money.
This is an open source template and is released and distributed under Creative Commons 2.5 licence. You are free to use this template in any way you like. All I ask for is that you leave the web site design credit links in the footer of this template intact. Thank you for downloading.
Click here to download Free Business Website Template
Monday, January 7, 2008
Free Business Website Template 016
Another business website template is available for download on my blog.
Template is 100% XHTML 1.0 Strict and CSS Valid.
This is two column free css template with navigation bar in the right column.
Template can be used for dentist or medical doctor office but can be also used for numbers of different projects. It is simple and very easy to customize.
This is an open source template and is released and distributed under Creative Commons 2.5 licence. You are free to use this template in any way you like. All I ask for is that you leave the web site design credit links in the footer of this template intact. Thank you for downloading.
Click here to download Free Business Website Template
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Advantages and Disadvantages Of Using Web Templates or WYSIWYG Editors For Web Designing
This article discusses the pros and cons of using website templates and WYSIWYG editors to design web pages as against traditional web programming. This article is intended for novice web developers and prospective website owners.
Template based web page development:
A lot of people get tempted by good looking web templates. Some template vendors even offer do-it-yourself kits to their customers. Web templates are designed by experts, using the latest designing software. They look stunning, compared to web pages developed by other means. While ready made templates offer several advantages, they have some disadvantages too.
Advantages of using templates:
1. You know how your finished site looks. You can choose the template that appeals to you. You need not rely on a web developer to get a good looking website.
2. Faster turnaround. You need not spend a lot of time on getting the colors and layout right. You can go straight to changing text and proceed with programming.
3. Templates are much cheaper than hiring a web developer. There are several sites that offer free templates as well.
4. Templates look much better than sites developed in traditional HTML programming. Templates are designed by professionals that are creative and competent and experienced.
5. Templates can be customized by anyone with basic HTML knowledge. You can customize the template yourself using a text editor.
Disadvantages of using templates:
1. You can get web templates for free or at a low-price. But these templates are not unique. Several people may have already bought or downloaded the template you have chosen. If you cant change the colors or layout a bit, your site looks like a clone of several sites. If you want a unique template design licensed only to you, you need to spend a fortune on it.
2. Often, templates don’t look good if you stretch them a bit. For example, if there is space for 100 words in a block and if you try to insert 200 words in that space, the template layout may change. And this may not look good. This puts limitations on text you can place in a template based web page, thereby restricting you from optimizing text or being descriptive about your business. It is well known that the more verbose in a page the more attention it gets from search engines. A template doesn’t come with Meta tags. You need to insert these meta tags.
3. Templates are good for static pages. If a site needs dynamic pages with a huge database to built, you need to opt for simpler templates.
4. If you are doing customization for yourself, always work on a copy of the template files. Templates are often done with simple HTML. But if you try to edit HTML tags instead of text between them, you might end up with bad page layout.
5. If there are template files with .tpl extension, locate the files where variables are defined. Then try to establish the logic behind the file system.
Using WYSIWYG editors:
Nowadays, several WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editors are available for creating web pages. With these editors it is possible to create good looking pages simply by dragging and dropping objects on the page, without any HTML knowledge. They come with a lot of menu options. If you are familiar with windows objects or windows based software, you can create a web page in time.
Advantages of using a WYSIWYG editor:
1. It's great fun to create web pages this way. You can do it yourself, experimenting with colors and layouts. The web page is likely to be unique, unless you are trying to clone another web page. You can stretch your imagination.
2. It’s faster and easier to create web pages. You can make changes to a page layout by simply dragging the objects to their new positions.
3. You can make changes to content (text or images) in WYSIWYG editor, instead of searching for and inserting between HTML tags, or using a complex content management system.
4. WYSIWYG software runs on any windows computer.
5. you can also create background images on fly.
Disadvantages of using a WYSIWYG editor:
1. A WYSIWYG editor produces files of large sizes. The web page may take a bit longer to download.
2. The HTML code generated may not be compliant with existing web standards. Some of these editors are meant for web sites to be hosted with particular servers. Some WYSIWYG editors even produce files with their own extensions.
3. You need to fill in a lot of details, such as Meta tags and link colors for each page. Some WYSIWIG editors support CSS while editing and some don’t.
4. You need to preview the page in different browsers more often to see if the page is shaping up as you intended.
5. Web pages designed using WYSIWYG editors are rigid. They do not stretch if you put more text or images on a page. Instead they overlap on each other. Some WYSIWYG editors produce excessive div tags. It is difficult to edit these pages in an ordinary HTML editor.
6. Often these web pages are difficult to optimize for search engines.
I believe this article will help you in deciding the tools to use for your next website. If your site requires a huge database and pages need to produce dynamically, it is always better to opt for traditional programming methods. If your site is static, then a great looking template or using WYSIWYG editor will be a good option. Another factor you need to consider is SEO. If you want to rely on traffic from search engines, traditional HTML, CSS gives you the best results. If you can promote your site by spending huge amounts of money, you can go for flashier and visually stunning templates without much regard to SEO.
About The Author
Jaya Kumar Patchala is a web hosting provider and web developer. Author sites http://www.hotbusinesssolutions.com and http://www.hostingplans4all.com. Author’s email : jkpatchala@gmail.com
Template based web page development:
A lot of people get tempted by good looking web templates. Some template vendors even offer do-it-yourself kits to their customers. Web templates are designed by experts, using the latest designing software. They look stunning, compared to web pages developed by other means. While ready made templates offer several advantages, they have some disadvantages too.
Advantages of using templates:
1. You know how your finished site looks. You can choose the template that appeals to you. You need not rely on a web developer to get a good looking website.
2. Faster turnaround. You need not spend a lot of time on getting the colors and layout right. You can go straight to changing text and proceed with programming.
3. Templates are much cheaper than hiring a web developer. There are several sites that offer free templates as well.
4. Templates look much better than sites developed in traditional HTML programming. Templates are designed by professionals that are creative and competent and experienced.
5. Templates can be customized by anyone with basic HTML knowledge. You can customize the template yourself using a text editor.
Disadvantages of using templates:
1. You can get web templates for free or at a low-price. But these templates are not unique. Several people may have already bought or downloaded the template you have chosen. If you cant change the colors or layout a bit, your site looks like a clone of several sites. If you want a unique template design licensed only to you, you need to spend a fortune on it.
2. Often, templates don’t look good if you stretch them a bit. For example, if there is space for 100 words in a block and if you try to insert 200 words in that space, the template layout may change. And this may not look good. This puts limitations on text you can place in a template based web page, thereby restricting you from optimizing text or being descriptive about your business. It is well known that the more verbose in a page the more attention it gets from search engines. A template doesn’t come with Meta tags. You need to insert these meta tags.
3. Templates are good for static pages. If a site needs dynamic pages with a huge database to built, you need to opt for simpler templates.
4. If you are doing customization for yourself, always work on a copy of the template files. Templates are often done with simple HTML. But if you try to edit HTML tags instead of text between them, you might end up with bad page layout.
5. If there are template files with .tpl extension, locate the files where variables are defined. Then try to establish the logic behind the file system.
Using WYSIWYG editors:
Nowadays, several WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editors are available for creating web pages. With these editors it is possible to create good looking pages simply by dragging and dropping objects on the page, without any HTML knowledge. They come with a lot of menu options. If you are familiar with windows objects or windows based software, you can create a web page in time.
Advantages of using a WYSIWYG editor:
1. It's great fun to create web pages this way. You can do it yourself, experimenting with colors and layouts. The web page is likely to be unique, unless you are trying to clone another web page. You can stretch your imagination.
2. It’s faster and easier to create web pages. You can make changes to a page layout by simply dragging the objects to their new positions.
3. You can make changes to content (text or images) in WYSIWYG editor, instead of searching for and inserting between HTML tags, or using a complex content management system.
4. WYSIWYG software runs on any windows computer.
5. you can also create background images on fly.
Disadvantages of using a WYSIWYG editor:
1. A WYSIWYG editor produces files of large sizes. The web page may take a bit longer to download.
2. The HTML code generated may not be compliant with existing web standards. Some of these editors are meant for web sites to be hosted with particular servers. Some WYSIWYG editors even produce files with their own extensions.
3. You need to fill in a lot of details, such as Meta tags and link colors for each page. Some WYSIWIG editors support CSS while editing and some don’t.
4. You need to preview the page in different browsers more often to see if the page is shaping up as you intended.
5. Web pages designed using WYSIWYG editors are rigid. They do not stretch if you put more text or images on a page. Instead they overlap on each other. Some WYSIWYG editors produce excessive div tags. It is difficult to edit these pages in an ordinary HTML editor.
6. Often these web pages are difficult to optimize for search engines.
I believe this article will help you in deciding the tools to use for your next website. If your site requires a huge database and pages need to produce dynamically, it is always better to opt for traditional programming methods. If your site is static, then a great looking template or using WYSIWYG editor will be a good option. Another factor you need to consider is SEO. If you want to rely on traffic from search engines, traditional HTML, CSS gives you the best results. If you can promote your site by spending huge amounts of money, you can go for flashier and visually stunning templates without much regard to SEO.
About The Author
Jaya Kumar Patchala is a web hosting provider and web developer. Author sites http://www.hotbusinesssolutions.com and http://www.hostingplans4all.com. Author’s email : jkpatchala@gmail.com
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Website Design for Newbies
This is an article that every Website Designer newbie should read. I think it is simple and has a couple of useful tips for web designer newbies.
In making your website, You must pay attention to the fundamental designs and details, to create a pleasant looking and yet optimally functional site. Several rules should be observed before it can qualify as a search engine friendly site.
1.Do not use flash intro or ezine subscribtion pop-ups
splash pages are the first pages you see when you arrive at a website. They normally have a very flashy intro with words like "welcome" or "click here to enter". In fact, they are just that -- unnecessary luxuries for your site. Do not let your visitors leave your slow loading website! Give them the information they need to know up front without the splash page. Opt-in list popup ads can be unwelcoming if you set it to load as soon as they enter your page. A discreet Opt-in form anywhere on the page can be a better way to get your visitors to join your mailing list. You can also set the popup for time-release so it deploys later.
2. Do not use too much banners
Even the least net savvy people have learned to ignore banner advertisements so you will be wasting valuable website space. Instead, provide more valuable content and insert affiliate links into it, and let your visitors decide if the product is good instead of being given an ultimatum to buy. Flashy banner ads do not account for most of the successful clicks like text ad links do.
3. Have a nice and presentable navigation
You have to provide a simple and very straightforward navigation menu so that even a young child will know how to use it. Stay away from fancy dropdown menus . If your visitors don't know how to navigate, they will leave your site.
4. Have a clear indication of where the user is
Try to provide a root map for menus and submenus, e.g. "You are here : F.A,Q". Visitors like being in control when browsing your site, because this gives them the ease to concentrate on what your site is about.
5. Avoid using video or audio on your site
Video and audio can help your marketing endeavor,if you use it wisely. If your visitor is going to stay a long time at your site, reading your articles, you will want to make sure they're not distracted by an audio message looping on and on on your website. If you must add video or audio then, make sure they can adjust it -- volume or muting controls would work fine.
Author of this article is Devan Kumar
In making your website, You must pay attention to the fundamental designs and details, to create a pleasant looking and yet optimally functional site. Several rules should be observed before it can qualify as a search engine friendly site.
1.Do not use flash intro or ezine subscribtion pop-ups
splash pages are the first pages you see when you arrive at a website. They normally have a very flashy intro with words like "welcome" or "click here to enter". In fact, they are just that -- unnecessary luxuries for your site. Do not let your visitors leave your slow loading website! Give them the information they need to know up front without the splash page. Opt-in list popup ads can be unwelcoming if you set it to load as soon as they enter your page. A discreet Opt-in form anywhere on the page can be a better way to get your visitors to join your mailing list. You can also set the popup for time-release so it deploys later.
2. Do not use too much banners
Even the least net savvy people have learned to ignore banner advertisements so you will be wasting valuable website space. Instead, provide more valuable content and insert affiliate links into it, and let your visitors decide if the product is good instead of being given an ultimatum to buy. Flashy banner ads do not account for most of the successful clicks like text ad links do.
3. Have a nice and presentable navigation
You have to provide a simple and very straightforward navigation menu so that even a young child will know how to use it. Stay away from fancy dropdown menus . If your visitors don't know how to navigate, they will leave your site.
4. Have a clear indication of where the user is
Try to provide a root map for menus and submenus, e.g. "You are here : F.A,Q". Visitors like being in control when browsing your site, because this gives them the ease to concentrate on what your site is about.
5. Avoid using video or audio on your site
Video and audio can help your marketing endeavor,if you use it wisely. If your visitor is going to stay a long time at your site, reading your articles, you will want to make sure they're not distracted by an audio message looping on and on on your website. If you must add video or audio then, make sure they can adjust it -- volume or muting controls would work fine.
Author of this article is Devan Kumar
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