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Website Design Info - Part 1
What Will My Site Do?
This is the first of eight articles about website design. Our discussion will deal with some of the issues which need to be considered when developing a new online presence. You may have already thought of some of these, but perhaps there are may be things which you haven't yet considered.
The Company
The Great American Widget Company is a manufacturer of widgets, that common household item that many find indispensable. Until now, however, Great American has been a 'brick and mortar' business. With the founder's son just out of college, he is looking forward to expanding the company's business on the Internet.
What is the new website expected to do?
Before doing anything else, before you even consider finding a hosting company, or a designer, or even before you register a domain name, or before putting pen to paper to begin writing content, take time to consider what the site will be about. Is your new site to be an eCommerce site, or will it be an online 'image' site that displays the image of your business?
Will you want to show an online catalog and take orders over the Internet, or just have prospective customers call you for more information? Will your customers be able to contact you only by email? (Not a good idea!) Will you accept credit cards online?
Will you have an online search for products or services? What keywords apply to your business and the way you wish to present it? Why are you better than the competition. What are your strongest virtues in your existing brick and mortar business?
How much money are you willing to spend on your Internet presence? Most assuredly, it will be more than you initially estimate.
Also, now is a good time to consider a budget - even a ballpark figure which you think you can afford on registering a domain, design and hosting. This budget can greatly affect what your site will be. For example, if you want an e-commerce enabled website, the costs will be much greater to develop and maintain than a straight HTML site.
Next week we look at how important a domain name can be. And in future articles we will discuss some of the hosting considerations, how to research the competition and some tips for writing for search engines.
Copyright 2005 - Richard F. Hill - All Rights reserved
Richard Hill is the author of the popular, and free, eBook "Autoresponder Cash Flow NOW!" which is available at http://www.us-email-service.com/arcfn.htm
Your Web Site Is A Wonderland: What Picassos Art Taught Me About Persuasive Design
Whenever singer John Mayer sings his romantic song, "Your Body is a Wonderland", I can't help but think of web sites and usability. As a usability consultant, I see the devotion to his lover, and the time he spent uncovering every detail of her being, as the way most web site designers think we approach their web sites. When the lyrics arrive at "Take all your big plans; And break 'em; This is bound to be a while", I start giggling. It makes me think of Amazon.com. I'll explain why.
How To Give Your Business Credibility
Let's face it. Buying products and services from the Internet can be a bit intimidating.
A Website Checklist
If you've just finished building your new website (or revamping your old one), how can you be sure it's "ready for prime time"? Or maybe your site's been around for awhile and you think it may be due for a makeover. Because Web technologies, techniques and standards change so rapidly, even a website that seems "cutting edge" when it's built can look obsolete a year later. Or maybe you started out with a barebones website and finally have the time and/or money to take it to the next level. If you'd to give your website the once over, here are ten aspects you should consider:
Website Registration Roadmap - How to Create Your Own Website in 7 Easy Steps
Creating your own website is actually easy in today's world of affordable and free web hosts and website building software. Fortunately, even if you have no Internet experience at all you can simply follow directions and build your own website in seven easy steps. Just follow the steps below and before you know it you will have your very own website online.
Essential Strategies To Make Your Web Copy Attractive To Your Target Audience
Reading on the web is different than reading in all other formats. People approach it differently and you need to have strategies that capitalize on those differences so you can connect with your prospects. Creating website copy that attracts your perfect clients, holds their attention and gets them to take action and connect with you should be your only goal when writing your website copy.
6 Website Design Disasters and How to Avoid Them?.
Let's face it; the line from A Field of Dreams isn't the whole truth. There's more to getting people to come to something than simply building it. Someone built the old run down historical mansion, but hardly anyone visits it (except maybe people you wouldn't want to run into). People want to find a place online that caters to them, specifically. They want it to be pleasant on the eyes, up-to-date, simple to understand and easy to get around in. But, this isn't an area where everyone succeeds. And sadly, some of the reasons for failure seem small, almost minute. Below are six website design disasters and simple steps that you can take to avoid them.
Pages to Include in Your Website
What pages need to be included on your website? The answer varies for each type of business and depends on how informative you want your website to be for potential clients. Below is a list of sample pages for you to review while you plan out your website.
Stop Sabotaging Your Sales
Do your web pages, sales letters or personal presentations include subtle distractions that unnecessarily cause you to lose sales?
Website Design: Color Me Blue
Chris, a new consulting client, asked me to help him increase sales on his affiliate marketing site.
5 Instant Tips for More Online Sales
Even after you've managed to bring traffic to your site you may be losing sales because of problems with your site's usability. What's "usability"?
Are You A Bill Clinton Webmaster?
One of the most frequent questions I get asked about my ebook, Don't Get Banned BY The Search Engines, is whether I amended it to include post-Florida Google. "Florida" is the code name that search engine optimizer wizards gave to a November, 2003, shakeup at Google that left many webmasters covering themselves up with makeshift fig leaves while dangling upside down above the proverbial crocodile moat.
So Much About META Tags!
I've written about META tags in the past, and I thought I'd help you expand your search engine optimization efforts and increase your web hits.
The Next Marketing Tool: Deisgn
Design sells. It's something that all of us know, but few of us consciously acknowledge. There is an age old adage that warns people not to "judge books by their cover." In other words, we shouldn't judge people or products by their appearance. But this isn't true in America. We do judge books by their cover ? in fact we spend billions of dollars on products that have prettier "covers."
Save Thousands of Dollars by Creating Your Own Web Site
With the advent of the Internet a whole new vista of business has opened up. Many erstwhile opportunities otherwise not available to us, many markets which were previously inaccessible are accessible to us now. We can transact with anyone anywhere across the world sitting in the comfort of our home.
Why Dot-Coms Fail - a Webmasters Perspective
Everyday we hear that another company goes out of business.
6 Tips To Improve Your Business Website
There are six important characteristics that can play a major role on the impact your website has on prospects. Outlined below is the importance of each characteristic and tips on how to maximize your potential. It is always important to tailor everything you do to what your customer is expecting, doing so will help keep you one step ahead of the competition.
Pop-Ups Still Work. At Least For The Time Being
Do you remember playing with the jack-in-the-box toy as a child? You knew that if you kept winding it up, eventually jack was going to burst out of the top and startle you!
Hiring The Right Webmaster
The Questions You Should Be Asking ? The Answers You Should Be Receiving
You Too Can Have an Amazing Website
It is a well-known fact that a successful business depends greatly on how it is marketed. With an ever increasing dependence on the web, the use of a professional website is not only a necessity, but a priority. Although it is a common thought that only large businesses can have top-notch websites, with the tools available today what seemed impractical can now be a reality. Best of all, designing an extraordinary website can be done without hiring expensive web developers to create your site from scratch. Usually the first comment I get from my customers is, "I have the idea, but not the tools." In this article, I will recommend which tools are the most helpful and where to find these tools so that you too can have an amazing website.
Custom Website Design - 3 Must Have Tools
Creating your own website can be fun and easy, as long as you have the right tools. Fortunately, all the tools you need are available at your fingertips and all you need to know are which tools will allow you to design the best website possible. The following tools are only a selection of the many means you can use to create and design the perfect website for your company.