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Small Business Website Design - How to Get Professional Results on a Shoestring Budget
Just because you are a small business with an even smaller website design budget, does not mean that you cannot have a professional looking website and presence on the web. All it means is you will have to do some of the work yourself instead of paying some design firm to do it for you. Amazingly enough, self designed pages from small business owners who did their research frequently end up being better and more focused than professionally designed pages. Consider the following suggestions when designing your own website.
Suggestion #1 - URL
First of all, your URL is very important and since it is the address to your website and what everyone will use to find your place on the web you need to put some careful consideration and thought into it. You don't want to come up with a URL that already exists as a .com and register it as a .tv. If you do this, you will just lose customers to the com. Likewise, you don't want to register a URL that has nothing to do with your website or content either. Be thoughtful and register a URL that pertains to your services or products, is as short as possible, and is spelled easily.
Suggestion #2 - Host
The next thing you must do is find a web host. Since you are on a shoestring budget you will be tempted to save money and go with a free host. Do not do this. Do anything you have to do to convince yourself that free is not always better because in this case it is not. Frequently the free sites don't get indexed by the search engines, they don't provide much space or bandwidth, and since they are free you can't do too much about it when the site is down or you went over your visitor limit. Instead, find an affordable host and there are many for under $10 per month, offer decent bandwidth, storage space, e-mail services, as well as other tools you need.
Suggestion #3 - Professional Templates
When it comes to designing your site, many hosts have tutorials and wizards that will help you do so. However, you will want your site to be as professional as possible so keep this in mind when choosing colors and the like. Also, use professional templates that you can buy or download for free online. They will give you the professional appearance you want for free.
Suggestion #4 - Text
When it comes to loading text on your website make sure you break it up into small chunks, use bold words, bullets, numbers, and anything else that you can think of to make it more readable. Avoid small fonts, light colors, or strange texts. Also, remember that the search engines use keywords in your text to return results, so be sure to include keywords in your text as well.
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Building a One-page Website
You've designed your logo, and you're ready to print your business cards and other marketing collateral materials. You want to include your website address (also called a URL) to build your credibility. However, you're not quite ready to write and design a full website. At the same time, you don't think it's a good idea to distribute your new printed materials showing your website URL and to have only a blank web page waiting for your potential client's inquiries. What to do?
Make Artistic Graphic Designs
Are you a student of graphic design? If you have taken time in extra reviews and put "graphic design" and "drawing" into any search engines, you'll get almost the same result = descriptions of graphic design programs at many design schools. Baffled? Well, it's like this: As a student interested in graphic design, you have to take drawing and not actually a degree in fine art.
Give People What They Want And Watch Your Profits Soar!
Do you know why the majority of people use the Internet?
Eight Website Pitfalls, and How to Avoid Them
Clutter: Too much noise, too much text, and too little white space mean that customers ignore the content. Customers often scan pages quickly, only reading titles or input prompts until they reach the content they want. Be concise, break text up with headings, not too many fonts and consider the reading level of your audience.
Will You Site be a BIG SUCCESS. 7 Reasons Why It Might Not!
With so many new websites going up, it is hard sometimes to tell if your site will be a BIG SUCCESS or an unexpected flop? If you are unsure of whether or not your site will fly with visitors or crash and burn, this article is definitely for you. Now we all know the importance of great service, but if your website doesn't communicate this, then you could be headed for failure.
The Contrast And Similarities Between A Web Designer And Web Programmer
The concept of web designing based on the nature and rapid growth of the Internet is nothing to boast of any more. This is because of the large number of web sites published to the Internet everyday, so as to showcase one's presence and dominance on the World Wide Web. You may ask why this is so, well, the so simple answer is the rate at which technology is evolving.
Top Ten Ways to Use Audio on Your Site
Audio can provide an added dimension to your site. It creates a warm atmosphere where visitors feel like they know you. And it can enhance your reputation as an expert. Here are the top ten ways you can start using audio on your site.
Top Ten Ways to Increase Web Sales - Part 1
You have only 10 seconds to impress your potential buyer.
Usability and Considerate Design
I hate to imagine that in your web development project team meetings, the one thing that will be overlooked is consideration for the end user. Yet, how many white boards have you seen lately that have "ease of use", or "be polite to customers" scribbled anywhere on them? Rather, the discussion hits on revenue generation, business requirements, colored backgrounds and information architecture. All good things, of course, but I'm quite sure you all want somebody to use it too, correct?
Web Marketing: Design Mistakes That Drive Customers Away In Droves
They may look cutting edge, but if you want a web site that contributes to your bottom line here are some design ideas you will want to avoid:
Create Favorite Icon
Favorite icon appears to the left of your link in either address bar or in favorites menu of your browser. It gives your website more personality, better visibility in favorites menu and is easy to create.
14 Ways to Add Content to Your Web Site - Part 2
7. Create high quality content - make clear points with each paragraph you write. Each paragraph should build on the previous one, so that you are pulling your visitor through your page naturally. You are trying to pre sell the product or service to your visitor. This puts them in a natural frame of mind to buy (unlike many sites which may just have pictures of the products and a shopping cart).
Tips for a Successful Website for Any Organization, NGO or GO
Most NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) don't understand these important aspects of a successful website. Even many governmental organizations (GOs) could improve their sites by following these tips.
Converting Traffic into Sales
Making a successful online business can be a long and tiresome adventure. For most new online business's this can just lead to failure and a website that just isnt making sales despite a high number of visitors.
Adding the Right Keywords to Your Website Content
You've made your website, added a great title and keywords in the meta tags. That's it, right?
Content - the Key to Long Term Success
Every day internet marketers are inundated with the latest fad or must have program. But the one tried and true asset which is vitally important to the long term success of your online business is valuable CONTENT. In fact, content can do more to build your business and profits than just about any other resource or service available.
Speed Up Or Lose Out! How To Improve Your Websites Download Speed
So your web site's online and you've got high rankings in the search engines attracting lots of visitors. But the statistics tell you most of them are leaving after viewing just one page, what's gone wrong?
11 Steps to Sticky Web Site!
An attractive and user-friendly Web site is crucial to attracting prospects and holding their interest. Seems obvious, yet poor design and even more poorly written content clutter the Web.
Let Your Website Make You $$$ While You Sleep! and All That Other B.S.!
Well, you've got your product, started your home business, and even have your website up on the internet. Only one problem, where is that money you were supposed to be making? Nothing! No one is knocking down your door to buy your product! Well, here is the real world answer. Just because you have a website up doesn't mean much if people can't find you among the masses of sites out there. And you thought you were done:) Now, the real work starts..... Need marketing strategies......
How To Use Color Effectively When You Create A Web Site
Colors are powerful, and create strong feelings. They can also make your web site look professional ? or look like a circus. Here are some powerful tips you should use every time you create a web site: