Are you thinking about launching a new website? Are you wondering who you should approach about a design? This article will hopefully give some guidance on this. Your website is a 24 hour a day window into what you do and have to offer, so has a huge potential in terms of you being able to make money even when you are not consciously working at it. You therefore need to have a website that will give you the very best business in order to provide the most lucrative profits. In these circumstances, what you pay for your web design and what you get for your money are of prime importance. You also have to bear in mind that what you pay will have a direct relationship to the quality of the work you receive.
Quality Price Ratio is a term that is often used in the wine trade, but can equally be applied in this context. Website design generally falls into four categories. There is poor design that is cheap, poor design that is expensive, good design that is expensive and good design that is cheap. Most people would prefer to aim to have the last of these categories, but they have to keep some important factors in their minds that will inevitably affect the price of the sort of lucrative website they seek.
These factors are as follows:
1. Registration of the domain
The URL of your website, or domain name, is an unavoidable cost which does vary. The actual registration of a particular domain is relatively cheap and some companies will even offer it for free. Some companies will charge more for a domain name, but this may be worth paying as they are much more likely to help you to discover the most effective domain name for your business.
2. Hosting
There will be an annual or monthly fee that you will need to pay which is for the web space you will be provided with on the Internet.
3. Design
When you begin to formulate some ideas for your website design, you need to bear in mind your business objectives in conjunction with how much you are willing to pay in order to receive a profitable return. Simple web design can look very nice and is cheaper to produce but, depending upon the items or services you are trying to promote, they may not attract sufficient traffic to make them worthwhile. You need to look at having a design that makes your products or services stand out from the crowd. In order to achieve this, you can include animation and images in Flash, but of course this will increase the price of the web design.
4. Search Engine Optimisation
This process is achieved both on page and off page and if undertaken correctly, will help your website appear within the first few results of any search undertaken by a search engine. Onsite optimisation involves wording the content in such a manner that it is attractive to search engines (as well as people), making it more visible. Offsite optimisation involves submitting your URL to article directories and social media sites, using excellent content. If you require your designer to do this for you, it will have to be paid for.
5. Producing Copy
Many people attempt to produce their own website content in order to avoid paying for somebody else to do it. However, this is not advisable, as copy production is far more complex that writing a letter, for example. The content needs to be worded in such a way as to grab the attention of all those viewing your website and so to employ the services of those who are used to doing this sort of thing will almost certainly give you a better result.
6. Ecommerce
Having an ecommerce website enables your clients to purchase goods directly from your website. This makes life much easier for anyone wishing to make a purchase. With people being so busy these days, having this facility is a must for anybody who has physical products to sell.
You need to decide how much you want to spend on your website design and then seek out an affordable website designer who will provide relatively cheap web design that is effective and attractive.
Monthly Archives: July 2011
How to Find The Right Web Hosting Company
When you are trying to find a reliable and an affordable website hosting company, it is important to know a few things before making the right decision.
A web hosting is like a company that provides you with a phone line to talk to other people. Without it, you can not talk to people or make any phone calls. A web hoster is the behind the scenes technology that lets your site run on their servers and let people view it online.
When you choose a website hoster for your website consider the following things.
Features: Different hosting companies offer a variety of services. Make a list of what you know you want your website to do. Here are a few services you will want to consider. Easy to navigate control panel, front page extensions, set up fees, transfer fees, site stats, site creation tools, submission tool to search engines, extra sub domains.
Speed: You need to know how fast anyone can get into your site. You don’t want to have a low-speed site that takes too long to load. It is crucial for your site to be accessed at a good speed for your visitors. Web users do not tolerate slow websites. Once they see that, they will leave your site and never come back.
Technical support: Is it important to find a website hosting company that has a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week service available. You simply don’t want to find a cheap website hosting company that can only help you once a week. You want a fast and accurate response to your questions.
E-mail accounts: The best ones are those with administrator control. Generally, you should have at least 5 email accounts for 3 users. Depending on the number users that have in your company, you should have least 3 to 6 standby email accounts. Look for email accounts with web based access as well as POP3.
Price: Don’t simply look for the lowest price. You know how they say, “you get what you pay for”. That is also very true with hosting. You pay little amounts, you get a lot less then you really need to run your site. Same thing with hotels. You look for the cheapest price, and when you get there, you get what you paid for. You know what I mean, right? Dirty old, smelly, small room.
E-commerce options: Should you want to sell a product or service online, you need to find a hosting provider that offers a selection of ecommerce features and payment processing services. Shopping cart, SSL security certificate and credit card merchant providers are some of the options you need to consider.
Disk space: Nowadays, many hosting companies offer hosting services that exceed the disk space needed for any given websites. Although more is better, it is not always necessary. Disk space can be purchased from time to time if it you need it. Consider hosting providers that can support the growth of your website and business. Ask them about the application, network, disk space cost, facilities and the solution they can offer as your site grows.
Downtime: This could be the one if not the most important things when choosing the best website hosting services . You can not make money if your web site is down. If your site is constantly down and your visitors can not access it on a consistent basis, you will lose subscribers, visitors, and possibly sales. Your site is useless if it is down most the time.
It is very reasonable to expect to spend between $20-$30 each month for a good and reliable website hosting company.
Website Design – Move Into the Twenty-First Century
If your business is ready to move into the twenty-first century, you will need the help of a web designer. We designers can have many specialties, and can help your business to expand and grow. Here are some tips on picking the right web designer or design company for your business.
Decide what you need. There are several different types of websites, and your company should decide what, and how much, you want to put online. If your company only needs a website to be informative, you can build a simple website with a one-time fee. Web set up can be a simple process with the right software yourself, but a web designer will help you to make it professional and appealing.
You may also be in need of a little more for your site. If you plan to sell items from your site, want the site to be interactive, or are in need of regular maintenance, you will need to find a designer to fit your needs. Some designers are only capable of simpler designs, and do not write involved code for websites. Web programmers, however, will be able to build a website that is reactive, interactive, and even build a store for your products.
Decide your budget. A budget is important, but when it comes to a great website, you must realize that you get what you pay for. Great web designers and programmers can charge $100 or more per hour for their services, but you will get the design you want with all of the features you require. If this is not in your budget, you may want to consider putting together simpler websites for the time being, until you can afford them. Make sure to prioritize everything you want your website to do for you, and make sure to speak with your designer to see if they have any suggestions for you.
Decide if you need and can afford an in-house designer. If your website will require almost-constant maintenance, you may want to spring for an in-house designer. Bringing the designer in as part of the team will allow the designer to get to know the business, allow them insight into what is important and what is attractive to your client-base. If you plan to begin selling your products online, and also begin a social media marketing project, hiring designers for in-house work can make a big difference in the quality and continuity of your work.
Hiring the right designer or firm. So how do you pick a good candidate for your company? There are several websites that list rated web design companies in the Houston, Texas area, such as yellowbook.com and whichwebdesigncompany.com. These sites allow you to read reviews about designs and design companies.
If you are looking to hire a full-time employee, make sure to explain everything you are looking for, and will be looking for in the future. Most web designers know what they are capable of and will let you know if everything you are looking for match their skillset. Head hunters can also match your company with a designer based on skills and languages the designer is familiar with.
The web can be a big and scary place, but don’t let that stop you from using it to your advantage! The web will allow you to reach customers you could not before, and can grown your business exponentially. Finding the right web programmer or designer can make your transition into the digital world a pleasant one.
Website Design – The Prowess of Web Designing
Appearance play a vital role in any field now days. In the case of websites, it is quintessential to frame all the integral part with the style. Content as well as the format is extremely important to hold the viewer’s attention. The format determines the status of the site been visited. Affordable website design has gain the equal attention in the record time. Whether you desire for business website design or custom website design, many companies are flooded with best option to offer.
Web templates
The most popular of website templates are PSD (Photoshop) and HTML (web page) format. Option between the HTML and Flash web templates are also available. The upside of the HTML website is that it requires very few add- on. Flash is aptly beneficial for those who are engaged in animation and moving graphics. They are catching and not soporific while browsing. On the other hand PSD formats are appropriate for the frequent customisation. It is best used for altering images and distortion of the options.
They come in free as well as in paid options. Depending on the scope of business one can go for the aforesaid options. To start up the small scale business one can opt for the free version. While launching the grand scale business it is recommended to go for the paid one. Even the paid version offers the affordable and economical packages to take a plunge.
Flash web design
The most attractive and interactive web design which provides fleeting provisions of the clipping. It is pertinent for the animations with sound effects. Loaded with the online demos and clipping imparting the relevant information about the product. Many innovative techniques are been adopted as flash logo designing has phased in. Flash has added colour to the site and embellish the old formats. This has enhanced the work decorum through corporate presentation and education assignments.
Business website design
Several website helpers render the best design for your business. But the proper customization and arranging the options determines the growth of the business. The design which offers the wide provision for the convenience of the clients turns to be prolific. Appending search engine marketing, business blogs and e- marketing add zing to the sites. Much business website design contains the feed back option, open discussion and instant dealing option to augment the business.
Custom website design also provides the sneak preview of the product or the line function of your company. This prepares the entire visage in front of the clients. With the advent of the ground breaking products, the services to introduce such product has taken its prominence. Instead of newspaper or other directory, clients flocked to search through the websites. In the dominating world of websites it is equally important to flourish the content with adding several style and patterns.
Website Design – How to Banish Boredom From Your Website and Entice Your Visitors to Stay Longer
With lots of new websites and blogs springing up virtually every minute it becomes more and more important to make your online presence unique and attractive for your visitors. Of course your website needs to have a professional look and feel about it. It needs to function well and it should be easy to navigate.
One thing you want to avoid on your website is boredom. Yes, Boredom with a capital B! You want your visitors to stay, don’t you? It seems obvious but there is nothing more off putting than a boring website – have a look around and find the ones that simply don’t appeal to you, the ones that bore you, the ones you don’t bother reading any further. It might be different for each individual but in general boredom is generated by a number of things: * too much text that is poorly formatted and monotonous. People are so stressed out and time poor that they don’t want to read a lot – at least initially. Once you grabbed their attention and they know that you offer worthwhile material they will be willing to read more because they know that you will not be wasting their time.
* Print that is too small or fancy. Remember not everybody realises that they can make the print bigger on their screen with a simple click on control and their mouse scroller. Some readers don’t have the technical resources to do so. Especially the baby boomer generation likes bigger print.
* Lack of images or photos (remember the old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words). A picture will make visitors to your site curious and wanting to read what your site or particular post or article is all about.
* The text is not broken up into manageable “chunks”, lacks sub headings, bigger headings and has no interesting colour interspersed.
* The same old format all the time – think about putting up an audio or a video instead of written text, people have different ways of absorbing information, intersperse the written word with other mediums or give them a choice to listen, watch or read. Videos keep visitors on your website for a longer time.
* Bad colour choices – this will of course depend a lot on your target market. Any colour has its place but make sure they harmonise as a whole (you can use a colour wheel to help you determine which colours match – there are some good websites, just Google the term colour wheel and you will find all sorts of fascinating things)
* Print that is hard to read (like white on black or another dark background)
* Always remember that less is more
* Think “Google” – white background, dark print, a splash of happy, clean primary colours, the occasional picture or symbol for special occasions. I am not advocating that your site becomes a Google clone but I believe that part of Google’s success is the simplicity of its site design, the use of clear primary colours and the lack of clutter on the page.
I hope that this article has given you some food for thought on how to banish boredom from your website when designing or re-designing your web page. Remember – sometimes a simple, basic site gets more traffic and business than a super expensive, very flash site. Start somewhere and build on it, otherwise you might never start. The most important thing is to get started at all!




