The basic elements and principles involved in web design are true for all other types of design. These principles will show you the most effective way to put together the various design elements to come up with a good and effective site.
A good web design company emphasizes the fact that web design is not simply about slapping all those HTML tags on the page, but it involves the use of web design principles to build a pleasing and useful web design. Your web design company will need you to make the most aesthetically attractive and effective web design, so make sure you keep these elements in mind:
Web Design Balance
Web design Balance is the equal distribution of the heavy and light elements on a singly page. Balance in your web design is concentrated in your page layout. You must achieve visual balance in your web design all throughout the page, not only in the initial view. You web design company might commonly suggest you to center the text and all the other elements on your page. It is also very common to set your page on an invisible grid system to create the balance that you need. There are three types of balance that can be achieved when designing a page.
Symmetrical. This is achieved by placing all the elements in an even fashion - a heavy element on the left is matched with another on the right. Be careful with symmetrical balances as you do not want your site to look flat or plain boring.
Asymmetrical. These are more challenging to build, but there are strategies to achieve this which can include the varying texture, color and image positioning and size to arrive at a pleasant looking page.
Discordant. Web sites that are off-balance suggest action or motion, so you can create a discordant design on purpose. This type of designs make viewers uncomfortable or uneasy, so they are best used for sites that are intended to make people think.
Web Design Contrast
Web design contrast is more than just about colors and black or white, but also involves contrasting shapes, sizes and even textures. You can take full advantage of contrast by changing font size, weight and family to provide textual contrast and varying sizes of images and elements. However, be careful not to blast your readers or scare them off with contrasting colors which are way too loud. The links on your content should be contrasted well to draw most attention.
Web Design Emphasis
Web design emphasis involves the main points where the eye is drawn into in a design. One of the mistakes that your web design company may warn you not to make is to have everything in the design stand out. Keep in mind that if everything in the design has equal emphasis, the entire page will tend to appear too busy for comfort and may end up unappealing. What you should focus on instead is to create a visual hierarchy in the web design - to put emphasis only on the right elements. You can use semantic markup to provide emphasis even without the use of styles; change the font size of image size in order to emphasis or lessen emphasis on them; or you can use contrast in colors for added emphasis.
Web Design Rhythm
Web design rhythm, also known as repetition, brings the much needed internal consistency into your web site designs. Almost all elements in your design can be repeated in order to create pleasing rhythm into your design. For instance, you can repeat your headline a few times for more emphasis, repeat the same image across the page, create a background that is tiled and patterned with repetitive elements, or repeat a particular style to provide site design consistency. It is also a good idea to repeat the navigation elements in your site design across the pages of your web site.
Web Design Unity
Web design unity, also regarded as a site's proximity, is the what keeps all the similar elements in the site alike and those diverse further apart, and pulls everything together into one integrated whole. Unity when it comes to web site design is mainly achieved through the proper placement in your layout. You can implement this in many ways. You can, for example, adjust the layout of your elements to put them close or far away from each other. In the body of your page, you can change the spacing around the text in your page contents. You can further achieve unity by playing around the box properties and change the margins and paddings.
A good web design company keeps in mind all the basic design elements with each and every page they design and collaborate with. This way, you and your web design company will come up with web sites that are pleasant looking, effective and attractive. As the web designer, it is important that you keep these elements in mind and apply them appropriately to your page web design.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Web Design Tips
When someone sees a beautiful web design, he or she can’t help but fall in love with it and wonder how it was done. However, designing a web would take more than just your knowledge in color, texts and images. It involves codes. But you can learn those in no time so there’s nothing to worry about. Moreover, there is a science behind web design and the following could help you be more scientific with your designs
Usability Testing
The secret here is to let someone who is not familiar with your site have a look at it. As much as possible, be in the room while they are testing your site. Take note of the things that they click on and the things that they ignore so you will know what to improve.
Browser Testing
Do not make the mistake of thinking that your web page will look good at any other browser because it looks good on your favorite one. Remember that the same browser could be used on another operating system and it may not look the same. What you need to do now is to check your page on every possible combination of OS and browser.
Use Log Files
Including log files can be very tiresome, however, it can also be very useful. It helps you know where viewers go from your homepage, what they mostly click on and what pages are least visited. Using log files can help you gather information that can help you modify your site and eventually lead your viewers to the page where you want them to go.
Don’t be afraid to recreate
One of the biggest advantages in web designing is the freedom to change web pages and layouts. Don’t be afraid to change designs that don’t work. Designing a web can be a lot of fun and involving science and structure into your designs will surely attract your viewers.
Use accurate titles for every section
Web browsers tend to scan pages and sections so make sure that your page or section titles are consistent and accurate. In this way, they can be sure that they are being led to the right section of the site.
Avoid ‘Click Here’
Links are very important in web pages. However, avoid using the text ‘click here’ when leading your viewers to another page. Instead use a descriptive and more appropriate text.
Improve Readability
Now is not the time to show off your collection of fonts. What’s important is for your customers to be able to read what is written on your site. Therefore, use attractive but readable texts to attract readers and customers of your site.
Proofread
Even the most excellent writer makes grammatical and spelling errors. You wouldn’t want your site viewers to think you’re an amateur, would you? What you have to do in order to increase trustworthiness is to proofread everything that is written in your site. Remember, less mistakes or lack of errors can add to your reliability points.
Usability Testing
The secret here is to let someone who is not familiar with your site have a look at it. As much as possible, be in the room while they are testing your site. Take note of the things that they click on and the things that they ignore so you will know what to improve.
Browser Testing
Do not make the mistake of thinking that your web page will look good at any other browser because it looks good on your favorite one. Remember that the same browser could be used on another operating system and it may not look the same. What you need to do now is to check your page on every possible combination of OS and browser.
Use Log Files
Including log files can be very tiresome, however, it can also be very useful. It helps you know where viewers go from your homepage, what they mostly click on and what pages are least visited. Using log files can help you gather information that can help you modify your site and eventually lead your viewers to the page where you want them to go.
Don’t be afraid to recreate
One of the biggest advantages in web designing is the freedom to change web pages and layouts. Don’t be afraid to change designs that don’t work. Designing a web can be a lot of fun and involving science and structure into your designs will surely attract your viewers.
Use accurate titles for every section
Web browsers tend to scan pages and sections so make sure that your page or section titles are consistent and accurate. In this way, they can be sure that they are being led to the right section of the site.
Avoid ‘Click Here’
Links are very important in web pages. However, avoid using the text ‘click here’ when leading your viewers to another page. Instead use a descriptive and more appropriate text.
Improve Readability
Now is not the time to show off your collection of fonts. What’s important is for your customers to be able to read what is written on your site. Therefore, use attractive but readable texts to attract readers and customers of your site.
Proofread
Even the most excellent writer makes grammatical and spelling errors. You wouldn’t want your site viewers to think you’re an amateur, would you? What you have to do in order to increase trustworthiness is to proofread everything that is written in your site. Remember, less mistakes or lack of errors can add to your reliability points.
Web Design Basic
When designing something, a designer should first go through the basics of designing. Whether he is designing a print design or web design, he must know the dos and do not's. The following items will help you know the basics of web designing as well as some techniques that are specific to coming out with the best web layout.
1. Create a design that seems friendly
There are actually a lot of web designs that scare people away and not attract them. If you want people to return to your website, make it soothing and light. Keep your site as friendly as possible.
2. Create a great homepage
When designing your website, you should keep in mind to conceptualize a homepage that would attract your viewers. Remember that the first page that your customers see can also be the last. So learn to create a page that will attract your visitor’s attention and then draw them deeper into your site.
3. Keep in mind the principles in designing web sites
Remember to apply your design principles such as balance, contrast, emphasis, rhythm and unity. This will serve as your guide and will help you conceptualize a good web design.
4. Think small in terms of graphics
Slow pages can be really very annoying. Whether you like it or not, one cause of slowing the pages is large graphics. To avoid such problem think of using images with a size of 10-12 kb.
5. Use graphics that fit the content
Just because you have a wonderful picture of you and your boyfriend doesn’t mean that you should include it on your website. Use images that are appropriate and that connect with your site’s content.
6. Don’t use blinking images
There have been studies proving that blinking images actually annoy people. If you want to use them, though, use them sparingly. You wouldn’t want your site viewers to leave your page just because of an annoying blinking image.
7. Stay with standard layouts
Try to use a layout that is simple as possible. The 3-column layout might sound corny and boring but it helps to keep your readers stay where they are and keep reading your site’s contents. Keep in mind that readers and site viewers stick with things that are simple and easy to understand.
8. Use standard fonts and limit the number of different fonts
Use standard fonts such as Arial, Verdana, Geneva, and Helvetica. They might seem too familiar but they look better on most browsers. Now, you don’t have to worry whether your fonts will work or not.
9. Don’t be greedy
Though ads help you make money by posting them on your site, keep in mind that people visit your site because of their perceived content and not because of the ads that you put in it. For all you know, these ads may drive your viewers away, if they are too many, and could possibly make you lose money.
10. Remember your readers
Understand that, unless you’re writing a site for yourself, your site’s content should include topics that your viewers might want to read.
1. Create a design that seems friendly
There are actually a lot of web designs that scare people away and not attract them. If you want people to return to your website, make it soothing and light. Keep your site as friendly as possible.
2. Create a great homepage
When designing your website, you should keep in mind to conceptualize a homepage that would attract your viewers. Remember that the first page that your customers see can also be the last. So learn to create a page that will attract your visitor’s attention and then draw them deeper into your site.
3. Keep in mind the principles in designing web sites
Remember to apply your design principles such as balance, contrast, emphasis, rhythm and unity. This will serve as your guide and will help you conceptualize a good web design.
4. Think small in terms of graphics
Slow pages can be really very annoying. Whether you like it or not, one cause of slowing the pages is large graphics. To avoid such problem think of using images with a size of 10-12 kb.
5. Use graphics that fit the content
Just because you have a wonderful picture of you and your boyfriend doesn’t mean that you should include it on your website. Use images that are appropriate and that connect with your site’s content.
6. Don’t use blinking images
There have been studies proving that blinking images actually annoy people. If you want to use them, though, use them sparingly. You wouldn’t want your site viewers to leave your page just because of an annoying blinking image.
7. Stay with standard layouts
Try to use a layout that is simple as possible. The 3-column layout might sound corny and boring but it helps to keep your readers stay where they are and keep reading your site’s contents. Keep in mind that readers and site viewers stick with things that are simple and easy to understand.
8. Use standard fonts and limit the number of different fonts
Use standard fonts such as Arial, Verdana, Geneva, and Helvetica. They might seem too familiar but they look better on most browsers. Now, you don’t have to worry whether your fonts will work or not.
9. Don’t be greedy
Though ads help you make money by posting them on your site, keep in mind that people visit your site because of their perceived content and not because of the ads that you put in it. For all you know, these ads may drive your viewers away, if they are too many, and could possibly make you lose money.
10. Remember your readers
Understand that, unless you’re writing a site for yourself, your site’s content should include topics that your viewers might want to read.
7 Easy Business Optimization Solutions For Your Website
7 Easy Business Optimization Solutions You Can Apply to Your Web Site Today
Finding affordable business optimization solutions for your Web site can some time be a challenge. Many of the Web site owners I talk to on a daily bases are small business owners that have a limited budget when it comes to advertising and even smaller when they talk about their Web site. One general consensus is that they all know they need to beef up their Internet presence but they all believe the only way to do that is by hiring a company who specialized in Internet Marketing or Search Engine Optimization. What many don’t realize is that with a little time and effort they can apply some basic optimization solutions to their site themselves and usually for free if they are dedicated to making their Web site succeed.
Being a small business owner myself I know how hard it is to juggle advertising dollars and get the most advertising for my money is important. I am going to share with you a few tips on how you can have a successful on-line presence by just putting a little time and effort into your site.
#1 - For Your Visitor
Lets start by taking a good look at your Web site. We all look at our site so many times often we overlook the obvious. Pick up the phone or drop an email to some of your most loyal customers and ask them what they would want to see on your site to help them be better informed about your product or services. Ask them their thoughts and comments on your site. Ask them to give you their honest opinion. Do they see anything that they could suggest to make it better for potential customers? Is there any specific information they fell would benefit a new visitor? It is amazing how getting the prospective of your customer will often open some windows you may have never thought of before and the greatest thing is it does not cost a dime.
Another great way to see how your visitors are using your site you may want to apply some click tracking software to your Web site so you can see how people are navigating through your site. It may be a real eye opener to how you have your pages set up. It will tell you just where and what your visitors are clicking on. Visit www.Crazyegg.com and apply a small piece of code to your Web site and start tracking your visitor’s clicks you’ll be surprised at what you discover.
#2 – For Your Visitor
While you are taking a look at your Web site have you given your customers easy access to your contact information on each and every page? Many Web site owners overlook this important aspect. You need to make it easy for potential customers to contact you. You want them to be able to find a way to contact you on each and every page and not just on a contact page. You’re working with split seconds every time someone lands on your page. Make it easy for them tell them exactly what you want them to do. Rather then just saying Call Now! Give them specific instructions.
For Example:
Go pick up your phone and call us now to hear more about this special rate. Time is limited so call now at 800-555-1234
Buy today to take advantage of free shipping ... delivered right to your front door in 48 hours!
Little things that you may not think are important usually are the things that result in making a sale or not. One important factor in advertising is trying to find ways to make what you say different then everyone else. Those that stand out in a crowd are usually the ones that are making the sale.
What can you do to make your information different? Think of your competitors and what they are doing then you do the complete opposite.
These are just a couple of Web design and layout tips to help with your business optimization solutions that will mostly benefit your visitor. Now lets concentrate on a few that the search engines will favor
#3 – For Your Visitor & Search Engines
You only have 3 seconds to capture someone’s attention so start your business optimization solutions right at your title tag. Go to your home page and make a mental note of your title tag (look in the upper left hand corner of your browser the words listed there are what it says in your title tag.) Now go do a search using your most relevant keyword phrase (what you want your visitors to find you on when doing a search) and look at the results that come up.
Look at the title of each result on the first couple pages. How compelling are they? Do they intrigue you to click on them by reading what is listed there? People are looking for instant gratification and they will read the results and normally will click on those that compel them to do so. For example let’s take a look at these results for coffeehouse:
Out of the following results which would you be more inclined to click on?
• Depot Coffee House
• Discover a Cup of Europe at Eurotazza®Coffeehouse
• DJ’s Coffeehouse
• Coffeehouse – Savor the Flavor of Brazilian Coffee
By addressing the instant reaction of your potential visitor you’re compelling them to click on your ad by writing a good title but you’re also creating a keyword rich
title tag that the search engines will favor.
The first impression most Internet users get of your company is the way you describe your site so use your title tag as the most part of your Web site.
#4 – For the Search Engines
Is your Web site compliant? A quick check of your HTML code will reveal if your site is complying with the W3C. I would recommend running your site through www.validator.w3.org/ to test your website for compliance issues with W3C.
Here is a short definition of what W3C compliance is;
The W3C is the World Wide Web Consortium and basically, since 1994 the W3C has provided the guidelines by which websites and web pages should be structured and created.
• Compliance help insure accessibility
• Compliance helps insure that your website is accessible from a number of different devices; from different browsers to the growing number of surfers using PDA?s and cellular phones.
• Compliance will also help insure that regardless of the browser, resolution, device, etc. that your website will look and function in the same or at least a very similar fashion.
Being compliant doesn’t necessary benefit you in terms of SEO at this point, however many of the processes you go through to get compliant code will automatically improve your “on page” factors and it will rule out a lot of crawling/indexing issues.
#5 – For Your Visitor
Pre-qualification of your visitors is one of the biggest problems many companies make when developing a Web site. Say your Web site is about “cell phones” and you’ve set up your site only for the keyword phrase “cell phones.” Do you know the competing pages for the terms “cell phones” is over 246 million?
Even as a Professional SEO I know it’s going to be pretty hard to compete with those kinds of numbers. Let’s say we break the keyword phrase “cell phones” down to the lowest and most detailed search giving your visitors exactly what they are looking for.
If I was working on this site I would be working on pages that are more concentrated around detailed keyword phrases.
• cell phone – competing pages – 246,000,000
• cell phone ring tones - competing pages 494,000
• custom cell phone ring tones – competing pages 225,000
• make custom cell phone ring tones – competing pages 177,000
• make free ring tones – competing pages – 31,700
• star trek ring tones – competing pages – 5,110
• family guy ring tones – competing pages - 1,950
• like to make my own ring tones – competing pages – 3
By spending just a little research time I was able to find some valuable keyword phrases that could be used to open additional windows into a cell phone site. The key is opening as many windows into your site as possible. Once you have given your visitor exactly what they’re looking for you have already earned their creditability and they most likely will spend additional time on your site looking at what else you have to offer.
Take a look at your site. Do you have a separate page for each of your products or services? Are you breaking it down in the smallest lowest detailed search?
Think of it this way …the search engines goals are to return the most relevant results to its users so break down your keyword phrases into the most detailed result and you are bringing very happy visitor to your site.
#6 – For Web Site Exposure
No one knows more about your product or service than you do so take your knowledge and put it down in writing. Nothing will give you more creditability then having a visitor reading something you have written about your industry. Still the power of the written word is priceless.
There are a number of Web sites on the Internet you can submit your articles to along with posting them on your own Web site. Most Web site owners think their Web site is just a place just to list services and company info. What some forget is most Internet surfers do much research before deciding to hire someone for a service or buying a product. Normally when someone is searching for they are gathering as much information they can about the product first. If they’re coming to your Web site reading valuable information about your industry and products they are immediately going to feel you are an expert in your field.
We are in a world laden with advertising so when writing about a particular product or service by-past the industry hype and stick to the facts. If your readers think you’re writing sales pitches they will instantly hit the back button. Give them detailed information or how to properly use your products something that will be of value to them.
Here is my top list of article marketing Web sites that you can submit your articles and remember the most important place for them is on your own site.
• www.BusinessKnowHow.com
• www.ArticleDashboard.com
• www.Buzzle.com
• www.ArticleBiz.com
• www.EzineArticles.com
• www.ArticleCity.com
• www.ArticleAlley.com
I found a great resource to get your content indexed on Google within 24 hours. Check out www.scribd.com. Be sure to read the terms of service Scribd does not like anything that resembles advertising.
#7 For YOU!
Learn learn and learn some more!
One of the best things you can do for your site is to learn as much about search engine optimization and internet marketing as you can. There are a number of free and affordable resources you can use to learn exactly what it takes to perform better in the search engines.
To start with here is a list of Blogs you can subscribe to so you can keep up to date with the latest changes on the Internet:
• www.searchengineacademysc.com/blog
• www.mattcutts.com/blog/
• http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/
• www.keiobservationdeck.com/
• www.sew-wrc.com/idea-motivator/
A couple Internet Marketing Newsletters to subscribe to:
• www.internetmarketingsecrets.com/
• www.marketingpilgrim.com/
Affordable On-line Training:
• www.onlinewebtraining.com/
• www.sew-wrc.com/
For a qualified SEO Training Center near you try:
• www.searchengineacademysc.com
Sign up to receive FREE SEO Tips at:
• www.searchengineacademysc.com/seo-tip.htm
There’s no substitute for a little hard work and learning some small business optimization solutions starts right at your computer!
Finding affordable business optimization solutions for your Web site can some time be a challenge. Many of the Web site owners I talk to on a daily bases are small business owners that have a limited budget when it comes to advertising and even smaller when they talk about their Web site. One general consensus is that they all know they need to beef up their Internet presence but they all believe the only way to do that is by hiring a company who specialized in Internet Marketing or Search Engine Optimization. What many don’t realize is that with a little time and effort they can apply some basic optimization solutions to their site themselves and usually for free if they are dedicated to making their Web site succeed.
Being a small business owner myself I know how hard it is to juggle advertising dollars and get the most advertising for my money is important. I am going to share with you a few tips on how you can have a successful on-line presence by just putting a little time and effort into your site.
#1 - For Your Visitor
Lets start by taking a good look at your Web site. We all look at our site so many times often we overlook the obvious. Pick up the phone or drop an email to some of your most loyal customers and ask them what they would want to see on your site to help them be better informed about your product or services. Ask them their thoughts and comments on your site. Ask them to give you their honest opinion. Do they see anything that they could suggest to make it better for potential customers? Is there any specific information they fell would benefit a new visitor? It is amazing how getting the prospective of your customer will often open some windows you may have never thought of before and the greatest thing is it does not cost a dime.
Another great way to see how your visitors are using your site you may want to apply some click tracking software to your Web site so you can see how people are navigating through your site. It may be a real eye opener to how you have your pages set up. It will tell you just where and what your visitors are clicking on. Visit www.Crazyegg.com and apply a small piece of code to your Web site and start tracking your visitor’s clicks you’ll be surprised at what you discover.
#2 – For Your Visitor
While you are taking a look at your Web site have you given your customers easy access to your contact information on each and every page? Many Web site owners overlook this important aspect. You need to make it easy for potential customers to contact you. You want them to be able to find a way to contact you on each and every page and not just on a contact page. You’re working with split seconds every time someone lands on your page. Make it easy for them tell them exactly what you want them to do. Rather then just saying Call Now! Give them specific instructions.
For Example:
Go pick up your phone and call us now to hear more about this special rate. Time is limited so call now at 800-555-1234
Buy today to take advantage of free shipping ... delivered right to your front door in 48 hours!
Little things that you may not think are important usually are the things that result in making a sale or not. One important factor in advertising is trying to find ways to make what you say different then everyone else. Those that stand out in a crowd are usually the ones that are making the sale.
What can you do to make your information different? Think of your competitors and what they are doing then you do the complete opposite.
These are just a couple of Web design and layout tips to help with your business optimization solutions that will mostly benefit your visitor. Now lets concentrate on a few that the search engines will favor
#3 – For Your Visitor & Search Engines
You only have 3 seconds to capture someone’s attention so start your business optimization solutions right at your title tag. Go to your home page and make a mental note of your title tag (look in the upper left hand corner of your browser the words listed there are what it says in your title tag.) Now go do a search using your most relevant keyword phrase (what you want your visitors to find you on when doing a search) and look at the results that come up.
Look at the title of each result on the first couple pages. How compelling are they? Do they intrigue you to click on them by reading what is listed there? People are looking for instant gratification and they will read the results and normally will click on those that compel them to do so. For example let’s take a look at these results for coffeehouse:
Out of the following results which would you be more inclined to click on?
• Depot Coffee House
• Discover a Cup of Europe at Eurotazza®Coffeehouse
• DJ’s Coffeehouse
• Coffeehouse – Savor the Flavor of Brazilian Coffee
By addressing the instant reaction of your potential visitor you’re compelling them to click on your ad by writing a good title but you’re also creating a keyword rich
title tag that the search engines will favor.
The first impression most Internet users get of your company is the way you describe your site so use your title tag as the most part of your Web site.
#4 – For the Search Engines
Is your Web site compliant? A quick check of your HTML code will reveal if your site is complying with the W3C. I would recommend running your site through www.validator.w3.org/ to test your website for compliance issues with W3C.
Here is a short definition of what W3C compliance is;
The W3C is the World Wide Web Consortium and basically, since 1994 the W3C has provided the guidelines by which websites and web pages should be structured and created.
• Compliance help insure accessibility
• Compliance helps insure that your website is accessible from a number of different devices; from different browsers to the growing number of surfers using PDA?s and cellular phones.
• Compliance will also help insure that regardless of the browser, resolution, device, etc. that your website will look and function in the same or at least a very similar fashion.
Being compliant doesn’t necessary benefit you in terms of SEO at this point, however many of the processes you go through to get compliant code will automatically improve your “on page” factors and it will rule out a lot of crawling/indexing issues.
#5 – For Your Visitor
Pre-qualification of your visitors is one of the biggest problems many companies make when developing a Web site. Say your Web site is about “cell phones” and you’ve set up your site only for the keyword phrase “cell phones.” Do you know the competing pages for the terms “cell phones” is over 246 million?
Even as a Professional SEO I know it’s going to be pretty hard to compete with those kinds of numbers. Let’s say we break the keyword phrase “cell phones” down to the lowest and most detailed search giving your visitors exactly what they are looking for.
If I was working on this site I would be working on pages that are more concentrated around detailed keyword phrases.
• cell phone – competing pages – 246,000,000
• cell phone ring tones - competing pages 494,000
• custom cell phone ring tones – competing pages 225,000
• make custom cell phone ring tones – competing pages 177,000
• make free ring tones – competing pages – 31,700
• star trek ring tones – competing pages – 5,110
• family guy ring tones – competing pages - 1,950
• like to make my own ring tones – competing pages – 3
By spending just a little research time I was able to find some valuable keyword phrases that could be used to open additional windows into a cell phone site. The key is opening as many windows into your site as possible. Once you have given your visitor exactly what they’re looking for you have already earned their creditability and they most likely will spend additional time on your site looking at what else you have to offer.
Take a look at your site. Do you have a separate page for each of your products or services? Are you breaking it down in the smallest lowest detailed search?
Think of it this way …the search engines goals are to return the most relevant results to its users so break down your keyword phrases into the most detailed result and you are bringing very happy visitor to your site.
#6 – For Web Site Exposure
No one knows more about your product or service than you do so take your knowledge and put it down in writing. Nothing will give you more creditability then having a visitor reading something you have written about your industry. Still the power of the written word is priceless.
There are a number of Web sites on the Internet you can submit your articles to along with posting them on your own Web site. Most Web site owners think their Web site is just a place just to list services and company info. What some forget is most Internet surfers do much research before deciding to hire someone for a service or buying a product. Normally when someone is searching for they are gathering as much information they can about the product first. If they’re coming to your Web site reading valuable information about your industry and products they are immediately going to feel you are an expert in your field.
We are in a world laden with advertising so when writing about a particular product or service by-past the industry hype and stick to the facts. If your readers think you’re writing sales pitches they will instantly hit the back button. Give them detailed information or how to properly use your products something that will be of value to them.
Here is my top list of article marketing Web sites that you can submit your articles and remember the most important place for them is on your own site.
• www.BusinessKnowHow.com
• www.ArticleDashboard.com
• www.Buzzle.com
• www.ArticleBiz.com
• www.EzineArticles.com
• www.ArticleCity.com
• www.ArticleAlley.com
I found a great resource to get your content indexed on Google within 24 hours. Check out www.scribd.com. Be sure to read the terms of service Scribd does not like anything that resembles advertising.
#7 For YOU!
Learn learn and learn some more!
One of the best things you can do for your site is to learn as much about search engine optimization and internet marketing as you can. There are a number of free and affordable resources you can use to learn exactly what it takes to perform better in the search engines.
To start with here is a list of Blogs you can subscribe to so you can keep up to date with the latest changes on the Internet:
• www.searchengineacademysc.com/blog
• www.mattcutts.com/blog/
• http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/
• www.keiobservationdeck.com/
• www.sew-wrc.com/idea-motivator/
A couple Internet Marketing Newsletters to subscribe to:
• www.internetmarketingsecrets.com/
• www.marketingpilgrim.com/
Affordable On-line Training:
• www.onlinewebtraining.com/
• www.sew-wrc.com/
For a qualified SEO Training Center near you try:
• www.searchengineacademysc.com
Sign up to receive FREE SEO Tips at:
• www.searchengineacademysc.com/seo-tip.htm
There’s no substitute for a little hard work and learning some small business optimization solutions starts right at your computer!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Website Design And Redesign
This website design your company commissioned a few years ago may hold a special place in the hearts of some within your company, but the market needs to be gauged regularly to determine if what worked then is what will work today. Your online presence must evolve if you hope to stay ahead of your competition. Mimicry and imitation of the #1 company in your sector is not the answer. Let DexterityMedia.com help you think ahead, employing not only proven design tactics, but revolutionary methods as well. As a leading Search Engine Optimization Company and Interactive Media Agency with offices in New York and Dallas, DexterityMedia.com is dedicated to achieving a strategic online presence for our clients through innovation, experience, constant testing and evaluation.
Working in close collaboration with your company, DexterityMedia.com's web designers and developers focus on usability, searchability and corporate branding, creating the most prospect-friendly, user-friendly online experience for your websites visitors.
While we do enjoy some of the more cutting edge tools and methods, we tend to shy away from gimmickry and the gratuitous use of "the next big thing," relying instead on proven and researched technologies that we predict will have staying power.
Affordable, innovative and strategically sound, DexterityMedia.com website designs focus on building your business.
DexterityMedia.com designers have worked for some of the biggest names in business. Contact us for a portfolio sample and URLs to some of our work or to schedule an evaluation of your website design or redesign needs.
Working in close collaboration with your company, DexterityMedia.com's web designers and developers focus on usability, searchability and corporate branding, creating the most prospect-friendly, user-friendly online experience for your websites visitors.
While we do enjoy some of the more cutting edge tools and methods, we tend to shy away from gimmickry and the gratuitous use of "the next big thing," relying instead on proven and researched technologies that we predict will have staying power.
Affordable, innovative and strategically sound, DexterityMedia.com website designs focus on building your business.
DexterityMedia.com designers have worked for some of the biggest names in business. Contact us for a portfolio sample and URLs to some of our work or to schedule an evaluation of your website design or redesign needs.
Friday, November 28, 2008
HTML Tutorial
Hyper Text Markup Language - HTML
Here you will learn how the basics of the Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML), so that you may make your own web pages like the one you are viewing right now.
HTML is not a programming language, but rather a markup language. If you already know XML, then HTML will be a snap for you to learn. We urge you not to attempt to blow through this tutorial in one sitting. We recommend that you spend 15 minutes to an hour a day practicing HTML and then take a break, to let the information settle in. We aren't going anywhere!
Preparation for HTML
Creating an HTML document is easy. To begin coding HTML you need only two things: a simple-text editor and the dedication to follow our tutorial! Notepad is the most basic of simple-text editors and you will probably code a fair amount of HTML with it.
If you are new to HTML and haven't read through the Beginner's Tutorial please take a few minutes to complete that tutorial before moving on.
Brief HTML Background
HTML has not been around for many years. November 1990 marks the day of the first web page and back then there were little to no HTML standards to be followed. A group called the World Wide Web Consortium was then formed and have since set the standards that are widely accepted and we will base our teachings around them.
Web Pages
Web pages have many uses. Here are some important facts about why web pages are so useful.
Words to Know
For now just know that a tag is a command the web browser interprets, an element is a complete tag, and an attribute customizes or modifies HTML elements.
The Rest of the Tutorial
For the rest of the tutorial, you may use the menu to navigate to specific lessons, or you can continue to learn step-by-step using the "Continue" button below. Examples and "walk-throughs" are provided in each section.
Here you will learn how the basics of the Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML), so that you may make your own web pages like the one you are viewing right now.
HTML is not a programming language, but rather a markup language. If you already know XML, then HTML will be a snap for you to learn. We urge you not to attempt to blow through this tutorial in one sitting. We recommend that you spend 15 minutes to an hour a day practicing HTML and then take a break, to let the information settle in. We aren't going anywhere!
Preparation for HTML
Creating an HTML document is easy. To begin coding HTML you need only two things: a simple-text editor and the dedication to follow our tutorial! Notepad is the most basic of simple-text editors and you will probably code a fair amount of HTML with it.
If you are new to HTML and haven't read through the Beginner's Tutorial please take a few minutes to complete that tutorial before moving on.
Brief HTML Background
HTML has not been around for many years. November 1990 marks the day of the first web page and back then there were little to no HTML standards to be followed. A group called the World Wide Web Consortium was then formed and have since set the standards that are widely accepted and we will base our teachings around them.
Web Pages
Web pages have many uses. Here are some important facts about why web pages are so useful.
- A cheap and easy way to spread information to a large audience.
- Another medium to market your business.
- Let the world know about you with a personal website!
Words to Know
- Tag - Used to specify ("mark-up") regions of HTML documents for the web browser to interpret. Tags look like this: <tag>
- Element - A complete tag, having an opening <tag> and a closing </tag>.
- Attribute - Used to modify the value of the HTML element. Elements will often have multiple attributes.
For now just know that a tag is a command the web browser interprets, an element is a complete tag, and an attribute customizes or modifies HTML elements.
The Rest of the Tutorial
For the rest of the tutorial, you may use the menu to navigate to specific lessons, or you can continue to learn step-by-step using the "Continue" button below. Examples and "walk-throughs" are provided in each section.
First Website Guide
Beginner's Website Creating Guide
This articles is introduction to HTML and web design. This short tutorial is aimed to give newbies a little experience in
writing HTML code, saving their files correctly, and viewing the completed works in a web browser. Regrettably this tutorial cannot
teach you the basics of using a computer, so please be sure that you meet the following requirements:
Know what notepad is and how to use it Are able to open up a file using Internet Explorer (or the browser of your choice) Know how to copy and paste text from a webpage (important!).
If you are lacking the ability of the aforementioned items please contact a local geek and ask nicely for a quick lesson.
Tutorial Overview
In this tutorial you will be transcribing code into notepad and then viewing it with a web browser.
The code is called HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) and notepad is a commonly used text editor on Window PCs. HTML may seem confusing at first, but we will help you understand how it works in this step-by-step tutorial of how to make your first web page.
Your First Web Page
To start off with copy the following HTML code into notepad. Be sure to copy the code exactly, otherwise your web page may not function correctly.
The above code is all that is required to create a basic web page! Now save your file in notepad by selecting Menu and then Save.
Click on the Save as Type drop down box and select the option
All Files.
When asked to name your file, type "index.html", without the quotes. Double check that you did everything correctly and then press save. Remember where it was saved to because you will need to open this file, soon!
Viewing Your Web Page - Web Browsers
To view your web page, you are going to have to use a web browser (of course).
Web browsers are programs that interpret HTML, like what you have just copied into notepad, and transform that code into a visual representation, or a web page. Common web browsers include:
Internet Explorer FireFox Netscape Navigator Opera
Viewing your page
To view your web page, you must open the "index.html" file inside of a web browser.
Open up another browser window and then follow these instruction.
Success! You have just viewed your very first webpage.
If this did not work for you,
please go through the steps again and follow the directions closely.
Tips
Simple-text program that has features notepad does not.
Such features include: spellcheck, code highlighting (you'll like this!), ability to open multiple files, and a more sophisticated undo feature. It is easy to set up and it is free!
You may have heard of FrontPage, Dreamweaver, and other WYSIWYG programs (What You
See Is What You Get). Though these programs will let you create pages quickly, you will soon learn there are many advantages to knowing how to code HTML. Spicing up
or polishing up HTML effects can only be done manually.
Ever wonder what a website's designer did to get that awesome look it has?
You can view a websites source (HTML) and if you know HTML you'll understand how they did it. On any browser, select the view command, scroll down and select 'view source' to see the HTML code for the site you are currently viewing.
This articles is introduction to HTML and web design. This short tutorial is aimed to give newbies a little experience in
writing HTML code, saving their files correctly, and viewing the completed works in a web browser. Regrettably this tutorial cannot
teach you the basics of using a computer, so please be sure that you meet the following requirements:
If you are lacking the ability of the aforementioned items please contact a local geek and ask nicely for a quick lesson.
Tutorial Overview
In this tutorial you will be transcribing code into notepad and then viewing it with a web browser.
The code is called HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) and notepad is a commonly used text editor on Window PCs. HTML may seem confusing at first, but we will help you understand how it works in this step-by-step tutorial of how to make your first web page.
Your First Web Page
To start off with copy the following HTML code into notepad. Be sure to copy the code exactly, otherwise your web page may not function correctly.
HTML Code:
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<h2>My first webpage!</h2>
</body>
</html>
The above code is all that is required to create a basic web page! Now save your file in notepad by selecting Menu and then Save.
Click on the Save as Type drop down box and select the option
All Files.
When asked to name your file, type "index.html", without the quotes. Double check that you did everything correctly and then press save. Remember where it was saved to because you will need to open this file, soon!
Viewing Your Web Page - Web Browsers
To view your web page, you are going to have to use a web browser (of course).
Web browsers are programs that interpret HTML, like what you have just copied into notepad, and transform that code into a visual representation, or a web page. Common web browsers include:
Viewing your page
To view your web page, you must open the "index.html" file inside of a web browser.
Open up another browser window and then follow these instruction.
- In the new browser window, select File then Open
- Then click Browse to enter Windows Explorer
- Do you remember where you file is? Good,then navigate to its location
- When you find your file, index.html, double-click the file to open it inside your web browser
Success! You have just viewed your very first webpage.
If this did not work for you,
please go through the steps again and follow the directions closely.
Tips
Simple-text program that has features notepad does not.
Such features include: spellcheck, code highlighting (you'll like this!), ability to open multiple files, and a more sophisticated undo feature. It is easy to set up and it is free!
You may have heard of FrontPage, Dreamweaver, and other WYSIWYG programs (What You
See Is What You Get). Though these programs will let you create pages quickly, you will soon learn there are many advantages to knowing how to code HTML. Spicing up
or polishing up HTML effects can only be done manually.
Ever wonder what a website's designer did to get that awesome look it has?
You can view a websites source (HTML) and if you know HTML you'll understand how they did it. On any browser, select the view command, scroll down and select 'view source' to see the HTML code for the site you are currently viewing.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Tips For Web Design
This article takes a look at the top 10 web design tips for users at any level. It will give you 10 complete different points to contemplate when you next begin a site design or when talking to your web design consultant/employee.
Design is never straight forward and web design has the additional unpredictable complication of technology thrown in. This means that you need to consider the consequences of your design decisions and how it will effect the most important people who see your site, the users themselves. The following tips should help you consider this and have a positive effect on your site and its users.
Top 10 web design tips :
1.Navigation & Functionality
You should never sacrifice overall functionality for artistic extravagance. It is highly unlikely your site will ever achieve its purpose if the people who visit it cannot clearly and easily navigate around it.
Your site should look good but first and foremost consider how someone who knows nothing about the site would think when they landed there.
Something occurring in website frequently these days is Mystery Meat Navigation. This is a term coined by Vincent Flanders and it is used to describe site where navigation structures are so obscure and difficult to process that users cannot identify them at all and end up running there mouse across whole sections of a screen just to identify hyperlinks.
2.Images
People say images are worth a 1000 words and in web design that’s true in 2 ways. Firstly an image can do a lot more than text in some situation but secondly they are much, much bigger files with a higher download time.
It is widely accepted users will click away from a page that takes longer than 5-10 seconds to load and every time you put an image in a page you are increasing the likelihood of this happening. Additionally each image you imbed into a page design activates an additional HTTP request to your server so dividing an image into smaller ones or using lots of small images across a page does not solve the problem.
ALT tags should also be factored into the code of a website. They are a huge help to people who have either images turned off in a browse, mobile broswers that can’t read the images or a random error preventing the image from showing. They also hold a small SEO benefit.
3.Tables
It is advised that you use CSS and not tables to format a document but in some cases tables can be necessary. Remember one thing however, a table cannot be displayed until it has fully loaded. This can potentially cause a huge problem for users as they wait for the page to load, nothing appears then out of nowhere the whole page is done.
Someone is much more likely to click away when nothing is loading than when they can see progress.
4.Fonts
Don’t design sites to use fonts only you have, chances are they will be converted into some dull font and ruin the effect you were trying to achieve. Save special fonts for specific headers and convert them to images. Make the rest of your site in standard fonts so that as many browsers as possible will see it in the way you meant it to be. Recommended fonts for high scale compatibility are Arial, Verdana, Courier, Tahoma and Helvetica.
5.Plug-Ins
Plug-ins hold a lot of potential for both users and designers but it can easily be misused and misguided.
Plug-ins have a many forms and uses, the most popular being Java and Flash Player. I have heard a lot of people say that these plug-ins are “safe” and that everyone has them but this is simply not true. Every plug-in has a stack of different versions and connects differently depending on the browser the user is surfing with.
Think if your users will really want to browse to other sites to download a plug-in, restart the browser then navigate back. If the answer is no use other tricks at your disposal to make your page unique and save the big guns that are Flash and Java for times where it is essential.
6.Tags
The “tags” I am referring to hear are meta keywords and description, title, alt and h1 tags. Together these tags help manage your sites search engine optimisation (SEO) potential and this is defiantly something not to overlook. Helping people find your site will bring more traffic in and more conversion if you are a retail site.
The higher search engines rank you the more traffic will filter down and the more successful your site will be. Try to keep a constant theme running through all your tags but do so in a subtle way. Splashing the same word 1000 times on your page will only have negative effects so make sure you strike the correct balance between informative and spammy.
7.Browsers
In a perfect world everyone would use the same browser and your website would look the same on everyone’s screen but unfortunately this is not the case. Every browser has its own specific functions and styles and learning to make you code cooperate with both can present some serious problems.
The three you really need to concern yourself with are Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari. These make up a good 95% of the browser market at the very least and while there are some additional popular browser I would not recommend you spend time optimising code for the rest.
The only thing you can do is do your best and stay away from browser specific functions, you’ll never make someone get a new browser.
8.Pop Ups
Something that is very important to remember is that the user should be in control of their browser and desktop. Do not place unnecessary pop ups and window opening links everywhere and the user will feel they have lost control of the site, become annoyed and close the windows.
There are some exceptions to using the (_blank) attribute but I would steer clear whenever possible.
9.Text Layout
Text is part of your design to and positioning it correctly on the page is very important. Try to get all the copy you need as early in the design process as possible. This means you will be able to design around the copy instead of trying to cram it into smaller spaces because someone wrote twice as much copy as they said they were going to.
Use the right alignment for the right situation, remember 99% of people will prefer left align and while justified look aesthetically better it can be very difficult to read in longer bouts.
10.Site Search
In this day and age finding what you want on a website in paramount. After you have followed the first tip on navigation you should also provide a search bar on your site so that a visitor who cannot immediately see what they are looking for can search. Many internet studies have seen the success of these smaller additions to your site and free ones are available from Google and many other SE operators.
CONCLUSION
Taking these 10 tips into account will help you design a more user-friendly and successful website, sometime it may seem like they are hindering your grand design but failing to take notice may result in your site being a very pretty stop sign for browsers. Just because you can find your way around your Flash menu system that takes 6 minutes to load doesn’t mean Mrs Smith who needs the product can.
Design is never straight forward and web design has the additional unpredictable complication of technology thrown in. This means that you need to consider the consequences of your design decisions and how it will effect the most important people who see your site, the users themselves. The following tips should help you consider this and have a positive effect on your site and its users.
Top 10 web design tips :
1.Navigation & Functionality
You should never sacrifice overall functionality for artistic extravagance. It is highly unlikely your site will ever achieve its purpose if the people who visit it cannot clearly and easily navigate around it.
Your site should look good but first and foremost consider how someone who knows nothing about the site would think when they landed there.
Something occurring in website frequently these days is Mystery Meat Navigation. This is a term coined by Vincent Flanders and it is used to describe site where navigation structures are so obscure and difficult to process that users cannot identify them at all and end up running there mouse across whole sections of a screen just to identify hyperlinks.
2.Images
People say images are worth a 1000 words and in web design that’s true in 2 ways. Firstly an image can do a lot more than text in some situation but secondly they are much, much bigger files with a higher download time.
It is widely accepted users will click away from a page that takes longer than 5-10 seconds to load and every time you put an image in a page you are increasing the likelihood of this happening. Additionally each image you imbed into a page design activates an additional HTTP request to your server so dividing an image into smaller ones or using lots of small images across a page does not solve the problem.
ALT tags should also be factored into the code of a website. They are a huge help to people who have either images turned off in a browse, mobile broswers that can’t read the images or a random error preventing the image from showing. They also hold a small SEO benefit.
3.Tables
It is advised that you use CSS and not tables to format a document but in some cases tables can be necessary. Remember one thing however, a table cannot be displayed until it has fully loaded. This can potentially cause a huge problem for users as they wait for the page to load, nothing appears then out of nowhere the whole page is done.
Someone is much more likely to click away when nothing is loading than when they can see progress.
4.Fonts
Don’t design sites to use fonts only you have, chances are they will be converted into some dull font and ruin the effect you were trying to achieve. Save special fonts for specific headers and convert them to images. Make the rest of your site in standard fonts so that as many browsers as possible will see it in the way you meant it to be. Recommended fonts for high scale compatibility are Arial, Verdana, Courier, Tahoma and Helvetica.
5.Plug-Ins
Plug-ins hold a lot of potential for both users and designers but it can easily be misused and misguided.
Plug-ins have a many forms and uses, the most popular being Java and Flash Player. I have heard a lot of people say that these plug-ins are “safe” and that everyone has them but this is simply not true. Every plug-in has a stack of different versions and connects differently depending on the browser the user is surfing with.
Think if your users will really want to browse to other sites to download a plug-in, restart the browser then navigate back. If the answer is no use other tricks at your disposal to make your page unique and save the big guns that are Flash and Java for times where it is essential.
6.Tags
The “tags” I am referring to hear are meta keywords and description, title, alt and h1 tags. Together these tags help manage your sites search engine optimisation (SEO) potential and this is defiantly something not to overlook. Helping people find your site will bring more traffic in and more conversion if you are a retail site.
The higher search engines rank you the more traffic will filter down and the more successful your site will be. Try to keep a constant theme running through all your tags but do so in a subtle way. Splashing the same word 1000 times on your page will only have negative effects so make sure you strike the correct balance between informative and spammy.
7.Browsers
In a perfect world everyone would use the same browser and your website would look the same on everyone’s screen but unfortunately this is not the case. Every browser has its own specific functions and styles and learning to make you code cooperate with both can present some serious problems.
The three you really need to concern yourself with are Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari. These make up a good 95% of the browser market at the very least and while there are some additional popular browser I would not recommend you spend time optimising code for the rest.
The only thing you can do is do your best and stay away from browser specific functions, you’ll never make someone get a new browser.
8.Pop Ups
Something that is very important to remember is that the user should be in control of their browser and desktop. Do not place unnecessary pop ups and window opening links everywhere and the user will feel they have lost control of the site, become annoyed and close the windows.
There are some exceptions to using the (_blank) attribute but I would steer clear whenever possible.
9.Text Layout
Text is part of your design to and positioning it correctly on the page is very important. Try to get all the copy you need as early in the design process as possible. This means you will be able to design around the copy instead of trying to cram it into smaller spaces because someone wrote twice as much copy as they said they were going to.
Use the right alignment for the right situation, remember 99% of people will prefer left align and while justified look aesthetically better it can be very difficult to read in longer bouts.
10.Site Search
In this day and age finding what you want on a website in paramount. After you have followed the first tip on navigation you should also provide a search bar on your site so that a visitor who cannot immediately see what they are looking for can search. Many internet studies have seen the success of these smaller additions to your site and free ones are available from Google and many other SE operators.
CONCLUSION
Taking these 10 tips into account will help you design a more user-friendly and successful website, sometime it may seem like they are hindering your grand design but failing to take notice may result in your site being a very pretty stop sign for browsers. Just because you can find your way around your Flash menu system that takes 6 minutes to load doesn’t mean Mrs Smith who needs the product can.
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