Structuring Your Site

One of the primary rules of web design is "don't make your visitors think". It's much better to present them with what they expect and what they expect is an "information tree" approach.
A site like ours has 150+ pages and we have to employ every possible artifice to make it properly and easily navigable by anyone who might visit it.

We use menus, search boxes and site-maps to aid visitors in finding what they need but mechanism is the structure of the site itself.

Like most sites we define four types of page

The 'Home' Page
Normally the first page on which a new visitor 'lands'
On most sites this will contain a single message with a few links to key areas of the site.
Social networking sites differ in that there are often dozens of links on the home page often leading to specialist areas or individual contributions - normally in date order.

Tips That Will Help You Become A Better Web Designer

If you aspire to know more about the techniques of web design, then read on! You are going to learn what it may take to get started if you want to get into webdesign, but you will also get some solid, general website design information as well. There's a lot of knowledge out there, and nobody can possess it all. You can learn and improve your skills regardless of how much web design experience you already have.

The design of your website should not look anything like other websites selling similar products. To make sure this does not occur, have a look at the websites of your competitors. Remember that if your website is too similar to that of one of your competitors, you will not seem unique, and you might even accidentally send business to your competitor. You'll just be another version of the same old site to visitors.

If you have a professional to speak with, do so. Web design veterans can offer valuable insight into tips, tricks, traps to avoid, hurdles to jump and a variety of other information, that can boost your initial efforts. By doing this, you are helping to guarantee that one day you too will be a professional, because you are willing to take the time and gain the knowledge to do things the correct way.

How To Make A Wise Decision About Professional Website Designers

It's art if can't be explained.

It's fashion if no one asks for an explanation.

It's design if it doesn't need explanation.

(Wouter Stokkel)

The above quote is enough to describe the significance of hiring a professionally competent website designer to create a website that tells the whole theme of a business. However, web designers have to consider certain factors to create appealing, user friendly websites. The success of the web design will become the success of the designer, but how to choose the best web designers who could deliver such promising results? The lines below will reveal.

Users' Comfort Comes First

The look and feel of a website should be as per the expectations of the site users. Whether its navigation or the layout, users' comfort level should be given due consideration. Users should be provided easy access to the content present on then web pages as and when they want. Highly functional websites attract the targeted audience to a greater extent than websites with just the appealing looks. Before hiring web designers, share this concern with them.

Designing Websites Which Adhere To User Experience

Most of the conceivable web designers present in the world today, overlook the true value of the user experience. What we need to comprehend is that user experience can ultimately break or create a business and its brand. The average question that should accompany web designers is "how will the users react when they land on the page?"
The Importance of User Experience in Web Designing
This is crucial aspect of web design. However, most of the present designers do not fully appreciate the concept. What the designer has to be aware of is that the web page is absolutely nothing without a visitor; it would remain a lost page in the vast, wide online world.
The concept of integrating the user experience is novel, which is being developed further. Today, in our era when everyone is on the virtual world, we have to acknowledge the way the web pages have shifted. Just a few years back, website was about web presence. The designers of this world has ceased to cater to the clients but shifted the designing for the user.
The Visitors Do Not Stick Around
The thing about visitors is that they do not stay in a page for more than five seconds. This should clearly state the importance of a user interface design. Impression is what drives in sales and making it within the stipulated time is what matters the most. Each second that the audience would spend on the page is at their own discretion.

Your Career As a Freelance Web Designer - The Path Worth Taking

Can you really make a career out of being a freelance web designer? It might be a somewhat trite response to say that you can be as successful as you wish to be...provided you are willing to put in the needed and required effort. However, such a seemingly trite assessment is not all that far removed from reality. If you really do want to make a decent part-time or full-time living at being a web designer, there is no reason why hard work and commitment won't pay off.. Of course, there is also a deliberate process which should be followed if you really are serious about seeing your career as a web designer pay off.

First, you will need to create a comprehensive portfolio of the work you are capable of performing. One of the best ways to do this would be to skim a few different websites online and pick three or four different diverse categories of subject matter. Afterwards, you can then go to a free website building site and create a website for each of the three or four areas. These would now serve as examples of the type of work you can do. Of course, you would also create a website of your own to promote your own design skills and services. The website should provide a detailed presentation of who you are and the type of websites you can create..

What Sort Of Web Designer Are You?

There are many who look at the web design industry and liken the attributes of designers to various animals found in the wild because they exhibit similar behaviours and characteristics of these creatures. Whilst some people may take offence to such a comparison, there is actually nothing wrong with being labelled a "lion-like" designer - in fact, there is much that we can learn from these animals about how to come up with better designs:

Camel In the same way that the camel has adapted to survive in harsh and often unforgiving environments, web designers must also be resilient and be able to adapt to a changing work environment. They must also be able to work long hours in order to reap the rewards of a finished project, much like the camel who travels long distances for water.

Cheetah In the same way that the cheetah is able to land its prey in a matter of seconds, web designers must work fast if they want to land the clients and meet deadlines. It is also important for a designer to avoid "burning themselves out" by having rest periods, as the cheetah does.

Dolphin In the same way that the dolphin is able to listen to frequencies that are ten times higher than what the average human can, web designers must also learn to listen carefully to what their clients ask of them. Like the loyal dolphin, designers must also form solid relationships with their clients to build their business up.

Useful Facebook Apps For Web Designers

When it comes to creating your own Facebook fan page or one for your clients, as a web designer, you are always looking for something to help you stand out from the crowd. Facebook apps can help you to do this, but what are the most useful apps for website design?

Addicted to Photoshop

This app is one of many created by Brusheezy and is marketed as giving users access to popular Photoshop brushes on patterns right on Facebook. Even though designers should know how to use and own Photoshop software, this app is handy for quickly altering images that have already been uploaded to Facebook.

Dexigner

This app is a handy design directory that displays the latest design news on just about any area in the industry, right on your Facebook page. Not only does it help keep you up to date, it can let your fans know what you're interested in at the moment. This app, however, is generally more useful for those people working in the web design industry.

Web Designing - A Revolution To The Online Business

What do you think about online business? Do you think it is different from a physical business? Although the processes are different the objective of maximizing revenues are common to both. Online business has reshaped marketing strategies, there are now numerous ways to attract customers. Many businesses adopt different ways to promote their business. The problem with this method of promotion is that it requires consistent and dynamic efforts to stay in the online market and face the challenges of business. To do this requires a combination of skills and experience to target audiences in different countries. It requires global focus too, with the best website design service for business which will draw and hold the attention of customers.

Why does your business need a good quality web design service?

It is becoming more and more essential that your business should have a quality website. Potential customers visiting your website will get their first impression of your business online. The more unique and attractive your website design is, the more chance you have to gain an edge on rivals and competitors. Good web design has a direct impact on business revenues. It is important to create a perception in your target audience, positioning your business so that you may achieve the utmost exposure. Perception is everything in business, a good quality website design provides you the greatest opportunity for online exposure. By doing this, your business shall gain the undivided attention of customers to find out more about your online products or services. Your online success in business will be defined by your website. Ensuring that the structure, graphics and navigation of your website and it being user friendly will always give your business the edge.

How to Effectively Use Web Forms

Web forms are an effective way to collect important information from your users. Hence, web forms are the integral part of any website. However, designing a web form requires adequate amounts of excellence as well as dedication. Check out here, how to create a well-designed web form.

Web forms must Have a Purpose

There is always a clear purpose of designing a web form. With a single objective in your mind, build a form, which is short, simple and functional. Regarding its layout, make sure that it should read from left to right or from top to bottom. The tab key should be functional to move around the form. Make sure that your web form does not appear congested and scattered.

Customize Form According to Your Requirements

The form should be designed according to the purpose. Considering the specific situation it addressed, you have to design the form. Do not put irrelevant fields in your web forms, as it may drive back your visitors. You need to keep two important things in mind:

Questions You Should Always Ask Your Web Designer

Firstly, be sure from the outset that the web design company has a genuine want to design your site. There's a lot of ideas that go into a website design, and if your designer isn't passionate about producing an impressive end result, then you should definitely choose someone else. It's better to take longer to choose your web designer than choosing quickly and them not understanding exactly what you want achieved.

Secondly, ask to see the web designer's portfolio. Anyone can talk a good talk, so it's best to be certain that they can produce the result you're looking for, and what better way to be sure of this than to look through their past website designs? By looking through a web designer's portfolio, you'll instantly know whether or not you like their designs.

Thirdly, you need to be clear about exactly what the web designer will want from you, and how much of your time this will take up. They're the designer after all, so you don't want the design and build process to take up the same amount of your time as it will theirs, as you may as well then be producing the site yourself. Whilst planning a website is undoubtedly time consuming, once this has been completed it shouldn't take up much of your time.

Fourthly, double check that once the site has been designed and built, it then belongs to the company that's paid for it. More often than not, web designers are paid by companies to create a website for them, which the web designer then owns. Whilst this may seem crazy, there are many web designers who work in this way, so be sure to check.

Questions You Should Always Ask Your Web Designer

Firstly, be sure from the outset that the web design company has a genuine want to design your site. There's a lot of ideas that go into a website design, and if your designer isn't passionate about producing an impressive end result, then you should definitely choose someone else. It's better to take longer to choose your web designer than choosing quickly and them not understanding exactly what you want achieved.

Secondly, ask to see the web designer's portfolio. Anyone can talk a good talk, so it's best to be certain that they can produce the result you're looking for, and what better way to be sure of this than to look through their past website designs? By looking through a web designer's portfolio, you'll instantly know whether or not you like their designs.

Thirdly, you need to be clear about exactly what the web designer will want from you, and how much of your time this will take up. They're the designer after all, so you don't want the design and build process to take up the same amount of your time as it will theirs, as you may as well then be producing the site yourself. Whilst planning a website is undoubtedly time consuming, once this has been completed it shouldn't take up much of your time.

Today's Web Designs, iPad and iPhone Development Technology

The abilities of modern day web designers are increasing exponentially with new technology. It's quite important to make sure you get the right web design for your company. If you're diligent about finding the perfect web designer, you'll ensure your site is as good as it can be through the guidance of the designer.

New technology means that users aren't satisfied with simple web design anymore. The site needs to be not only easy to navigate, but it needs to come with extra features such as accessibility to different media. This means mobile phone, such as iPhone, along with the likes of iPad development.

There are many apps for iPhone and iPad now that are enormously popular. Users who come to your site whether from the Internet or a portable device like an iPhone, will judge your company based on your website design. That's why it's critically important to make sure every aspect of your site is continually made modern.

Though the majority of visitors to your site will be from a more traditional computer, there are many new possibilities now. Developing an iPad or iPhone app for your website is a great way to narrowly target the demographic you want to hit. Great web design through an app will make it fun and easy for consumers going through your site.

Plan for a better web presence by hiring best web designers and by employing SEO services

The enormity of the world wide web is not a secret in the modern era of wired generation. From a school going teenager to a retired senior citizen, everyone is glued to the internet for one reason or the other. The reasons are quite obvious. The ease of usability and the incredible volume of information available is sure to attract millions of clicks per second. The implications are even more obvious. The tremendous potential that this holds for any business venture has led each and every organisation regardless of its scale of operations to have a web presence. A website can be used for a myriad of reasons ranging from profit to non-profit purposes. To have as many people visiting your website is a task in itself. Why? Because, just like you, there are thousands of other minds working on the same idea, utilising the immense potential of web to establish their presence in the magical worlds of online media.

To stand out from the clutter, you will have to employ the SEO services in London in order to gain online visibility. SEO should not be confused with advertising even though it is just one of the strategies that it employs to make a website visible and popular. A recent study has claimed that only 5 companies control 64% of all online spending with Google controlling 46%. So, you can very well imagine how much importance it is to have higher rankings in search engines like google, yahoo etc. This is possible when you employ the best SEO services that work using different tools and techniques to draw maximum traffic towards your website.

Web Designing - What To Consider

How important is a website of a company nowadays? The importance of an official website is really important for a company to run a business in today's time. It plays the role of providing first-hand information to clients and also helps in creating a positive online reputation and brings in favorable and potential clients.

It is important for an enterprise to run a website that showcases what the enterprise is all about, what are its services and what products do the produce which can be of use to the masses. To run a perfect web site depends upon what clients likes and also in the hands of web developers. Any good software development company would easily do this work of web designing and development.

One thing a person should know is that any leading web developers understands client's needs and also the target audience and accordingly analyzes business opportunities that will help in creating a perfect website for a positive online presence for the company.

Here are some points that a person should consider while availing any website designing service:

1. The service provider or the web application development service provider should understand business and its opportunities in terms of business needs and target customers.

2. They should also be able to come up with domain names which suits exactly or closely to the clients nature of business and needs.

3. Clients and the provider should together study market requirements and customers' expectation and accordingly discuss how the website should be designed.

Features of a Good Local Web Designing Company

Web design plays an important role in promoting the company's image as well as in increasing profits. It is a fact that most people spend a good part of their time online nowadays, but for a site to invoke the right kind of reaction, it needs to be well created and attractive to the target market. This also needs to be the case for the different features on the site, since being attractive but hard to navigate doesn't help.

There are very many web designers in the market today and most of them do amazing work which is bound to increase and expand your company's returns. Web designing should be handled as a form of marketing since it will attract potential customers, eventually turning them into clients. A good web designing company needs to have the required skills and should make every effort to assist your business to make an impact in the market.

Appointing a web design company should be based on:

Choosing a Web Designer - What Makes Great Service

In the competitive world of online marketing, presentation is essential. With the vast number of websites that cater for every subject and need, if you don't catch the eye of the user and provide superior functionality in addition to great content, there is almost no chance that your presence will be effective. Web design is an area of business that is easy to get into and difficult to master. While plenty of companies and designers can create an effective web page, the differences that separate the good web designers from the rest will become glaringly obvious with the quality of service that they provide.

Their job is to help you decide on everything that will go into your site and to guide your project within the realms of possibility and feasibility. You aren't just paying somebody to make your vision come to life, you are looking for a person with the design know-how and talent to help turn your ideas into something marketable and Internet friendly. From creating the right aesthetic for the site to making it easy to navigate and enticing to users; a good designer is responsible for a lot of aspects of the site's creation, not just the programming and code.

A designer's work doesn't stop at the completion of the website either. The quality of service is really tested after the website goes live. The Internet is constantly changing; continued support for your business' web presence is important to staying relevant. Having up-to-date content is crucial as well as making changes to your site's design and functionality as your business grows and evolves.

You should also look for support in the areas of social media and Search Engine Optimisation. Good service will see a designer helping you create an online presence that drives traffic to your website. Expanding your web marketing strategy can help you get more page views and a higher volume of traffic, exposing your business to as many customers as possible.

Choosing a Web Designer - What Makes Great Service

In the competitive world of online marketing, presentation is essential. With the vast number of websites that cater for every subject and need, if you don't catch the eye of the user and provide superior functionality in addition to great content, there is almost no chance that your presence will be effective. Web design is an area of business that is easy to get into and difficult to master. While plenty of companies and designers can create an effective web page, the differences that separate the good web designers from the rest will become glaringly obvious with the quality of service that they provide.

Their job is to help you decide on everything that will go into your site and to guide your project within the realms of possibility and feasibility. You aren't just paying somebody to make your vision come to life, you are looking for a person with the design know-how and talent to help turn your ideas into something marketable and Internet friendly. From creating the right aesthetic for the site to making it easy to navigate and enticing to users; a good designer is responsible for a lot of aspects of the site's creation, not just the programming and code.

A designer's work doesn't stop at the completion of the website either. The quality of service is really tested after the website goes live. The Internet is constantly changing; continued support for your business' web presence is important to staying relevant. Having up-to-date content is crucial as well as making changes to your site's design and functionality as your business grows and evolves.

5 Tips for Beginner Web Site Designers

The internet has made it possible for people to get a business started without needing a massive amount of start up cash. As long as you can commit to putting time toward your goal, you will eventually achieve the results you desire. That said, you will have more luck if you start off on the right foot. Here are five things to keep in mind when designing your first website.
1. Don't go overboard - Don't try to do too much with your first site. Instead, it's a better idea to take advantage of web design software or a plugin like Wordpress. Keep the site fairly simple, and focus on creating good content rather than on adding bells and whistles to your site.

2. Learn some basic SEO - Search engine optimization will help get you noticed. Learn some of the basics of keyword research and link building skills, and be sure to include your best keywords in the titles of your posts. At the same time, don't let SEO become the only method you use to obtain visibility.

3. Learn some basic social media skills - Research methods used to promote your site through social media such as Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Reddit, and LinkedIn. This can help attract a community of loyal followers who may be interested in content on your site. Social media is the best way to connect users with content that they would be interested in, but wouldn't know to look for in a search engine.

Web Design Considerations In 2011

Web design always changes, but you can become successful if you just keep a few tips in mind. These tips and advice will help you along the way. One of the things that you may want to make sure that you keep apart of your web design is more CSS3+HTML5. These both have been on the horizon of web design for the last couple of years. In 2011, there has definitely been a big explosion of it. Many web designers are beginning to let go of "flash."Flash really isn't that hot anymore.

You should also consider simple colour schemes, and should consider staying away from black and white. Green, yellow, or even red can go very well as your primary colour. You should limit your palette to just two or three colours. It is very remarkable what just a few colours can do for your message.

Another thing that you should consider is going mobile. This is because it can actually create a vacant and impersonal design. Mobile design has really taken a big leap forward with the entire extra added on. Mostly every site has a mobile option for it. Think about using parallax scrolling on your web site. It can be most effective as a secondary element of your design. It can be used as a header, footer, or even back round. You have a few choices when it comes to using parallax scrolling, so you should really think about adding it the next time you design a web page. Web design Manchester has some really cool designs that designers can check out, if they want to get some really cool ideas.

Freelance Web Designer Brisbane

Working with a quality web designer in Brisbane means working with a professional that refines, rethinks, has the skill, the experience and technology and talent to create and develop the best, most functional site possible. Web design is about design, ideas, trends and technologies.

A Brisbane web designer is the professional that will design and create your website. The role of the Brisbane web designer is to make your website unique, attractive and fully functional. Web designers will be able to sit at the drawing board, taking your ideas, their ideas, your needs and design and create the best website for you. A web designer, is an artist, that is a master in their craft, and has full knowledge of the latest technologies and software. They are able to envision, implement and create a site that is outstanding and will gain the recognition on the web that the webmaster desires.

Working with a web designer in Brisbane should mean working with someone that can provide full services. They should be able to create an optimized website design with dynamic programming and powerful online marketing.


The web designer will meet with the client and discuss their ideas and needs to determine their best options. The designer should discuss what functions you need, discuss colors, pages and so on. They will also discuss technologies such as Web 2.0 possibly for the site. And, determine if you wand blog or Twitter feed into your website. From there, the web designer will begin to begin the design of the website.

Once the web designer knows the features you need, they will then be able to start the designing. The designer will make preliminary sites that are designed to show you how the end product will look and function. It is during this stage that they will work out all bugs prior to presenting you the mock website.