December 16th, 2009 by admin

The average web surfer spends 5-10 seconds deciding whether or not they want to remain on a site. And given that users who leave disappointed rarely return, it is important to catch their attention the first time around.

The seven tips listed below will help you to improve your website, encourage repeat visits, and get results.

1. Create Compelling Headlines

By writing concise and descriptive headlines, you tell your visitor what your site can offer them and why they should stay on your site. Be sure to use no more than 6-10 words, and make your headline standout by using a larger font size or bold text.

2. Make Sure that Your Pages Load Quickly

If your pages do not load within 5-8 seconds, you will lose most of your visitors! For most sites, this is fairly easy to achieve. However, if your site has lots of images or graphics, it might be especially hard for you to achieve this sub 8 second load time. For these types of sites, try optimizing your images, resizing your images, or removing unnecessary images. Also, remove excess whitespace from your pages.

3. Choose Smart Colors

Have you ever come across those websites which seem to feature every color in the rainbow? Please use these as an example of what not to do. Research has shown that visitors respond best to websites that have a simple and consistent color scheme. And if your website contains lots of text, for ease of reading, it is suggested that you use dark text on a light background.

4. Provide a Simple User-Friendly Navigation

Its very important to enable your visitors to easily find the content that they are looking for. So try to keep the navigation in an easy to find location such as across the top of a site or in a left or right sidebar. And if your site is large (30+ pages), it might be helpful to have a search box.

5. Don’t Overwhelm Your User With Content

Your site should have sufficient content to keep your visitors interested. And you might have tons that you’d like to provide. However, you don’t want to overwhelm your visitors by flooding the site with too much content. If you have a lot of information, try to break it into different categories and spread it across multiple pages. Additionally, to aid the visitor in reading the content, do not let the lines of content stretch across the entire width of the page.

6. Write Quality Content

There are a few questions that you should ask yourself to determine whether you have quality content on your page:

1. Is it unique?
2. Is it well-written or is it riddled with grammatical errors or spelling mistakes?
3. Will the target audience understand the content or will they need to employ the use of a dictionary?
4. Is there sufficient content on a page or is the page mostly empty or full of ads?

7. Remove Dead Links

There is nothing more frustrating than clicking on a link and receiving an error page. So if you remove any content, be sure to remove all links that point to that page.

Sofia Sapojnikova
Vesta Digital
http://www.vestadigital.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/web-design-articles/7-tips-for-highly-effective-websites-1589018.html

December 15th, 2009 by admin

Web design is all about appearance, and half of a website’s appearance rests in its colors. Choosing the right color scheme is exactly as important as choosing the right matching clothes. Many web designers make a mistake of choosing the wrong matching colors, which greatly affects the overall website design, no matter how extraordinary it is. Therefore, to avoid this mistake, take the following measures to choose the right color scheme for your website:
Color scheme according to the website’s nature: Before even starting, the most critical thing is to decide the nature, purpose and the audience of your website when choosing a color scheme. For instance, a corporate website should use more subtle colors, while entertainment and fashion websites can use louder and happening colors.
Thematic color scheme: Isn’t it awkward to have a website with colors opposing its logo or header? If you have an already designed logo, banner or header, try incorporating those colors in website designing. This will give an integrated look to your entire website and add professionalism to it.
Color combinations at play: Basically two color combinations are used, complimentary and contrasting. In complimentary color schemes, you chose various shades of any one specific color. This technique works best when you want to remain on a safe side and give an overall professional look to your website. Contrasting color scheme on the other hand is effective to make certain elements on your website stand out and show more creativity through your website. However, special care must be taken while contrasting colors to avoid a mess.
Background colors: A websites background colors are highly crucial in web design. Normally, the background should almost always be white or in pastel shades. In very rare circumstances is there a reason for some other loud color, because any other color reduces readability and prove hurtful for the readers eyes.
Text color: It’s recommended to stick with black text unless you don’t want to make a specific word, link or sentence stand out. If you type the entire website’s text in a bright contrasting color like red, yellow or blue, it may be quite annoying for the reader. In some cases like children or entertainment websites, bright colors may work well, but won’t be the best option for serious and business website design.
It can be too easy to pick bad color combinations and put visitors off, so don’t make this mistake and choose the best colors scheme for your website. A professional web designer or web design company can guide you well on the color schemes that can help your web page look professional and appealing.

James Parker is a marketing specialist and IT consultant working in diverse domains of IT. He has also worked with some Web design and web development and Web design Firms. He can be approached at jamesparker.cdz@gmail.com.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/web-design-articles/how-to-choose-the-color-scheme-for-your-website-1584328.html

December 15th, 2009 by admin

With the advancement of technology and web design skills, it is still surprising that some designers sometimes make it difficult for visitors to move around a website. No matter what type of content or what products a company is selling online, the site should always be visitor-friendly. Navigation should be easy with numerous avenues for finding their way around the site.

According to Search Engine Optimization for Dummies: 3rd Edition, web designers should think carefully about how a site is structured:

Does it make sense from a visitor’s point of view?

Are visitors able to find what they need quickly?

Are there pages where a visitor can’t find a link to get back into the main page?
As stated above, because people tend to think differently from each other, a website should be designed to provide several avenues for finding their way around. In the same sense, a website is also giving more information to search engines and making it easy for crawlers to navigate around easily.

The book also provides web designers with different navigational systems that can be added to a site. They include:

Navigation Bars – Many websites include navigation bars more frequently these days.
Table of Contents or Index Page – It is suggested that you sort the page alphabetically or thematically.
Sitemap – This page should be linked to the different areas of a site.
Navigation Text Links – Include little links at the bottom or sides of a page that can help visitors find their way around (and assist search engines as well).

About CODANK Charlotte Web Design

CODANK is a top Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company located in Charlotte, NC. The company is dedicated to providing a broad range of web design services. CODANK specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Online Marketing, and Web Design and Development.

For more information, visit CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company at www.codank.com

About CODANK Charlotte Website Design and Markjeting Company

CODANK is a top rated Web Design and Internet Marketing firm located in Charlotte, NC. We are dedicated to provide the highest quality, cost effective custom software development services, delivering a broad range of business consulting and outsourcing services.

For more information, visit us at http://codank.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/web-design-articles/website-navigation-101-1580163.html

December 14th, 2009 by admin

Sitemap taxonomy is a way to classify the tremendous amount of information available on the World Wide Web. Organizing web content is a lot of work that requires manpower and money. But creating sitemap taxonomy is a process that must be done in order to make information readily available to users.

Often times the information is there but users are unable to access it. With the sitemap taxonomy, web content is arranged in such a way that the user will be able to use it effectively. As it is more and more users are flooded with information that is useless to them thus creating frustration.

Impact of sitemap taxonomy to Internet marketing

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Sitemap taxonomy can be a big boost to Internet marketing. The whole purpose of being on the web is to get exposure to a wider audience of potential customers. Unfortunately, the overflow of information often makes it impossible for searchers or browsers to find what they need.

Most of the time online users form searches that often turn up useless or non-relevant results. This is not only frustrating for users but also for any company advertised on the web. Users are left guessing the right keyword they need to use in order to get the information they need off the web.

Unfortunately not all users have the patience to keep guessing until they find the right keyword. More often than not, users will give up their search and go on with another search. This can mean lost sales for any company on the web that doesn’t have a sitemap taxonomy.

Building a sitemap taxonomy

Many people may think that building sitemap taxonomy is an easy simple process of putting together keywords. Sorry to say, sitemap taxonomy is a demanding task however it does have its rewards. With an effective sitemap taxonomy in place, a website is more likely to get more traffic that would translate into profits.

Working out a sitemap taxonomy is often a trial and error process. It requires using the right terms that users are better acquainted with, in order for them to find their way through the site. At the same time, using the wrong terms may make it impossible for users to find what they need within the site. 

There are generally two sets of online users that should benefit from the sitemap taxonomy, browsers and searchers. Browsers often use the sitemap taxonomy to find their way within a site while searchers use online search engines to find the information they need. No matter what type of user is involved, the sitemap taxonomy should address the needs of both users. Enabling either user to find the content they need.

Do-it-yourself sitemap taxonomy

The best candidate for creating the sitemap taxonomy of a site is the company itself or the individual behind the website content. Although hiring a professional to create the sitemap taxonomy of the site is an option, it is best that someone with firsthand knowledge of the website’s content do it. There are a number of important aspects to consider before doing the sitemap taxonomy.

Keep in mind that in general the sitemap taxonomy should be extensive not profound. Putting together profound sitemap taxonomy may only make matters worse as the user will have a difficult time finding the subject matter they need. It is also best to use basic terms instead of advertising jargon that can be easily understood by all.

http://www.web-design.moneybizhome.com

When structuring the sitemap taxonomy, it is important to maintain some exactness at the highest levels. This helps make it easier for users to navigate the site and find the information they need. It is also a good idea to limit the number of items under each level from two to seven subject matters. If not then it is best to combine subject matters for a more efficient sitemap taxonomy.

Take into account that sitemap taxonomy is not an exact science. It requires constant fine-tuning in order to produce an effective sitemap taxonomy. However the entire process will pay off big in the long run as users who are more likely to find what they need are those more likely to spend money.

http://www.emarketing.moneybizhome.com

Oli works full time as a Market Analyst.He graduated in Management.He can help you to grow your computer consulting.
http://www.computer-pc-tips.moneybizhome.com/

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/web-design-articles/sitemap-taxonomy-to-classify-web-content-1576210.html

December 13th, 2009 by admin

The ubiquitous internet has gone a long way from being just your ordinary research tool.  These days, websites have evolved into an all-in-one, multipurpose space in the World Wide Web that not only lets you gather information, it now allows you to make one for yourself without the hassles – it could even be for free.

Since websites give you the power that is perfect for your business, organization and personal use, for sure you want one so you can keep in touch with your network of contacts, post high-quality photos, share files, maintain a 24/7 online presence and so much more.

But admit it:  You can never fully figure out how websites work.  While it continuously fascinates you, it also drives you out of your mind.  Truth is, making a website is easy.  All you need is the right platform and you’ll get the hang of it.  In fact, the process could be summarized in five easy steps.

The Planning Stage
Just like any systematic procedures, website creation starts with a plan.  You need to make a clear path of your objectives to make your website perform to your demands.  Also, you need to decide if you will build it on your own or you will be asking qualified professionals to do it for you. To help you make judgment, try asking yourself the level of commitment you can put on putting up the website.

The Research Stage
Once you’ve come up with a plan, it’s time to do a study about the keywords you will include in your homepage’s content.  This is critical in order to make your website be displayed in search engines when online users look for your particular niche.

Looking for a Website Hosting Provider
This is a confusing step since there are hundreds of website hosting providers and packages to choose from.  The trick of the trade is simple – Don’t choose a cheap offer at the expense of performance.  Instead, choose one that suits your taste and needs.

Deciding on a Domain Name
Your website, of course, needs an identity.  This is where a domain name comes in.  Start by brainstorming what to call your website based on its category.  You need to have multiple options though, since it is possible that a particular domain you’ve thought of is already taken.  By then, you can now register it.

Pos-Creation Stage
The task doesn’t stop there.  It is important to take note that website efficiency depends on its content.  Also, monitoring and maintenance also plays a major role in your websites performance.

Building Your Own Website doesn’t require any IT-related degree. In fact you can make one for yourself using this comprehensive guide.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/web-design-articles/five-easy-steps-in-creating-your-own-website-1574548.html

December 12th, 2009 by admin

A question I often ask my target market is, “what’s your biggest challenge with building your business online?” And one answer I get frequently is this:

How do I make my small business website earn money?

If you’ve got a business online, then it’s likely you have some sort of web presence. Perhaps it’s a one-page ‘sign up for my list’ kind of site, or a full-blown brochure site with a menu of choices, or maybe your site is in the form of a blog. Regardless of what kind of site (or sites) you have, if they’re not doing what you want them to – and since we’re in business, ultimately that means making some sort of a profit – then it’s time to make some changes.

But how do you REALLY know whether your site is working or not? Here are four strategies to test and track your pages to know what needs fixing:

1. Let the numbers speak small business web design

I’m sure if the sky was the limit, you’d hire the most expensive web designer with the fanciest tools to create the most spectacular site imaginable for your business – and someday you just may do that.

For now, though, even an ugly site can make money. I can think of at least two sites right now that I personally think are not that pleasing to the eye, yet I know they are raking in the bucks each and every month, year after year.

So don’t get caught up in having the most polished and professionally looking site. Focus more on having the pieces in place that will bring you the cash, too.

2. Give your site only one job

Think of each page of your website as a separate entity with one main purpose. It may be to sell something, or to sign up for your list, or to get people to call you for an appointment. Whatever it is, make it clear that that one thing is the action your visitor should take from being on that page.

3. Track your numbers

Most web hosts offer statistics that you can use to watch your numbers, or there are other web stat programs that you could use as well (such as Google Analytics). However you are keeping an eye on your numbers, you should be looking for two things: how many people visit your site and how many people take the action you want them to take.

From those two numbers, you can figure out your conversion rate, which tells you how many of those visitors took the action you wanted them to – like sign up for your list. If you make small changes to your page AND watch these numbers at the same time, you’ll be able to tweak things to increase your conversion rate.

4. Make one change at a time

This is a very effective way to increase the conversion rates on sales pages and sign-up pages. Change just one thing – for example, the headline – and watch your numbers. Compare those statistics to your previous ones and decide whether or not to keep the change. (You can also do this via a split-test in your shopping cart, where the software does the number crunching for you.)

I see so many sites that try to be all things to all people by offering everything under the sun in too small a space – a website – and all that does is confuse people and encourage them to click away. Remember, ‘a confused mind always says no’, so always go back to the main questions when considering making changes to your website: What’s the purpose of this page? What is the one thing I want my visitor to do here? And then design your copy around the answer. Keep it simple and you’ll get better results every time.

For more information on web design for small businesses, check out Small business websiteand weekly marketing Blog for small business owners at Small business web design !

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/web-design-articles/is-your-website-working-for-you-1572310.html

December 12th, 2009 by admin

It’s an established fact now that the success of a website doesn’t depend on a single factor itself. A combination of efforts needs to be made to make a site soar to new heights of success. What makes a site so exciting today is its visual appeal, range of products and services offered and ease of navigation. Compared to a website that was built decades back, the present day websites give you a definite advantage in all your online endeavors right from visitors pulling to web promotion. Getting the best website designs developed for your site is one of the crucial factors in the success of a website now. If you are really concerned about the standing of your site in the search engine ranking results, it’s imperative that you take proper care of the design part as lack of designs can make your site bland, and interestingly, too much use of it may hamper its website visibility. Here comes the role of a professional website design agency which can create the best and appropriate designs for you putting equal amount of care in webpage design.

Compared to a basic HTML site, a design based site like that of a Flash site does always have an edge because it’s always remains on the top when it comes to the visual appeals. Flash website designs as well as other design based website development projects are now being outsourced to the development facilities situated in various regional bases like those in India. web design India has become one of the most prominent names in the entire designing world simply because of its awe-inspiring web design and development capabilities. All types of designing projects are now being handled by the outsourced web design Indian firms.

A web design India firm takes immense pleasure to offer clients their individual web design requirements at very affordable rates. The concept of outsourcing has really opened up new growth opportunity to the Indian web design and development professionals who are loaded with talents. They are now helping thousands of clients worldwide with their value and most reliable web design services.

This article is written by a technical writer, working at SynapseIndia, a professional flash web designer in India. Synapse offers professional flash design like macromedia flash web design and flash web pages design. For more information please contact us.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/web-design-articles/outsource-web-design-for-better-productivity-1571609.html

December 11th, 2009 by admin

Creating a website on Internet was once a tough task and considered to be a very time and money consuming process. However, with the changing time and advancement of information technology, today it is no longer a costly or tedious process. In fact, today the easily availability of various options to create a free website has simplified the process of building a website. Now you don’t have to think twice before you decide to have a website of your own. The concept is very exciting and helpful for those who are keen on create his or her website without any charge. There are few ideas, which work behind to make this concept possible. So if you are one of those who are looking forward to creating your website without spending any money then below are few ways, which help you can take advantage-

Free web hosting companies-Today the availability of many free web hosting companies has made it possible to create a good website without spending any money. Although, their functions are limited to hosting a website, but they assure that your website is hosted successfully. For this, you just need to register online with such providers. After registering, they generally assign a domain name, as well as provide a webpage for your content. The assigned domain name by the provider can be an extension of their own site. Besides, assigned domain name may also contain your domain name, which can be your username followed by the provider’s sites name and com. These providers even offer templates so that you can create eye-catching and user friendly web pages. The reason why they show their interest in providing free website hosting services are once your website starts making money, you might refer their hosting services to upgrade website.

Friend’s hosting -Another way to create your own website is by using your friend’s hosting. You can do so by asking your friends if any of them owns a website and can host his/her website for you.

Blogging platform- Blogging platforms are one of the most popular ways of posting stuffs online. However, these days there are various such platforms that not just allow you to promote stuffs, but also create a free website as well. Not all but there are few that allow you to develop a website without spending any amount. You can look for them on the web and find your way.

Apart from all this, there are many another options that can be very effective for making website without having any expenditure. You can also use your friend’s domain name and then try to add it in your niche’s sub-domain. This simple process helps you make a separate website under the same domain name. Although adding another domain can lengthen your domain name, but at the same time it can act as a wonder if you want to start promoting your website. Later the search engines will be able to differentiate the two different websites once your niche starts to get popularity and gather a lot of traffic.

These are the few best options that can be very effective for creating a free website. Once you create a website, definitely it is going to have a lot of fun because it’s really incredible to view your ideas get to life and when you can make money by doing something fun, it’s really give a deep satisfaction.

Create your own free website at YouFreeWeb.com. Find huge range of creative and unique free web templates and design your website with free website builder tool. You can also customize your website template for free.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/web-design-articles/how-to-create-a-free-website-on-the-web-1568493.html

December 10th, 2009 by admin

When you start a company and you want to promote it, there are various kinds of methods for endorsement One of them is Web Design India which is an online method. This method proves to be beneficial for a company as it helps to build a brand for your company not only in your country but in other countries as well.  Web design is a creation of web pages portraying company information using HTML, CSS and JavaScript and other web languages. A website can do a lot for your company as it provides a detail description of your company and products as well can be used as a brochure to advertise your company. Biggest advantage of having a website that it can be viewed 24/7 for 365 days a year. Website design companies make website according to the company requirements and they design a website with their innovative ideas, A web designer has to consider the basic essential things before creating a website.

1. Navigation-A website should be navigational in terms that the users can easily open the page they want to view and finds no difficulty in returning to the home page.
2. Ads-   A web designer should try to place limited number of advertisements which are noticeable by customers.
3. Maintenance-When you create a website you have to maintain it and if you created a links to other website,check them periodically that these links are working and takes you somewhere.
4. Graphics-its is an essential thing of the website as they add color, attitude ,theme but these graphics should be limited as too many graphics will only make your website really slow.
5. Color-Web designers add colors to make a website attractive but they should add right colors to the website and should also see that the background colors are not conflicting with text colors.
6. Fonts-A website should be written with different fonts to create interest of the readers.
7. Style-Designers have a choice of writing styles for writing a website but they should choose a style that its is suitable for your website.
8. Layout-A designer make each page different to go along what he wrote on that page but the basic layout should be similar.
9. Content-It depends purely on your choice that what things you want to put in the content section of the website but before uploading content read it and check that there are no spelling and grammatical errors.

Website design company not only design a website for your company but also helps you to promote it by providing services like search engine optimization puts your company into top ranking list.t web designing companies helps a lot by  presenting an extraordinary website for your company that not only helps to generate profit but also increases the list of clients for your company.

Syrup technology is a full service software company india providing Offshore Development India for companies or individuals interested in outsourcing their web design and Brochure design samples needs.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/web-design-articles/website-as-an-endorsement-tool-for-a-company-1565212.html

December 9th, 2009 by admin

Behind every successful website factors like creativity, branding, crisp and error free content writing is obviously important, but a careful planning is another factor that cannot be overlooked.

No matter, whether you are developing a simple online brochure or a high-budget e-commerce website, a little ground work can always be very helpful to focus your project, especially on-schedule and in-budget.  Below are some of the most valuable points, which should be taken in account before you start work on your website and look for true web solutions-

Figure out your requirements

For a successful online project or website, you must have a clear idea about its overall goals and objectives. As a result, listing specific primary objectives and needs can actually help you a lot. You should target different aspects, which can help your organisation to achieve its short and long-term objectives, such as advertise a service, attract clients, report results, increase your visibility etc.

Your website should be enough to provide complete information related to your product and services. This in turn will reduce time spend on answering phone calls, collaborate geographically-diverse associates on projects and reduce the amount of money spent on conveying information by post. Although there can be numerous objectives for the site, but prime focus should be one and targeted properly.

Identifying the target audience

Before starting a website development you must know the category of the audience you want to target. Targeting every online visitor is impossible, so the best thing you can do is to know your target audience and then target them. Below are few important categories that you can consider:

Already existing customers – Working on existing customers can always be an excellent yet challenging way to maintain reliability among your already existing customers.

Soon-to-be customers – People who are not aware of your product or service can be a great way to enhance the establishment of your company’s credibility. A superior website can help in attracting new customers with ‘experience’ and ‘professionalism’.

Your competitors’ customers – It is another way to enhance your business by routing people to you from your competitors.

Experts in a specific field- If you are planning to target those customers who are experts based on particular and respective fields like engineering or teaching then your website should clearly mirror the interests and needs of those professionals.

Apart from choosing a group you must also check for your online visitors’ age or geographical area or any of their distinguishing qualities. Considering these factors, you can aim your target customers and develop a good user-interactive website.

Figure out your customers’ need

When you are done with your target audience the next thing you should do is figure out your customers’ demands. Your online customer might be Internet savvy or even unaware of your service. Consequently, you need to determine how you should present your information of your services. In order to present information regarding your service you must take on the easiest and the most effective method.  Online visitor does not like to spend their time on reading lengthy content, so keep your information simple, relevant, clear and concise.

No doubt, to build a successful website you need to work hard and put lots of effort. By following above mentioned tips you can get valuable help to make your website fruitful which in turn can help in presenting and promoting your online presence and business to different level. With these simple tips in mind you can make your website more synchronised, informative and target right customers.

Get websites designed with people in mind. Hire dedicated web designers to design customized site for you as per your business needs and customer’s psyche. Visit TIS India for specialized web design services and browse our best web designs.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/web-design-articles/planning-your-website-target-your-customers-and-needs-effectively-1559897.html