Web Design 2008 - Feb 2008


Web design Sunshine Coast

Ok. We are in to February & what do visitors want from your website? What makes for a great website?
Great web design - current and professional. Relevant information specific to their search and their needs. Eg. If they need to find accommodation on the Sunshine Coast, then provide an attractive website containing all the info and answering all of their questions.

Wouldn't you like to know the main ingredients for creating a superior website?
What basic elements you must have if you want a solidly designed webpage? A web site that will stand out and be noticed by your visitors. One that will keep those visitors returning to your site, again and again. An effective website that is 95% better than most of the other pages on the internet.

Your web designer should follow these simple web design features when creating your next web site and you will have a winner:

1. Effective Keywords

The nucleus. The conception. Good keywords are the very first building blocks you must consider before your website even becomes a dim notion in your head. Picking the right keyword or keyword phrase is the ultimate factor that will determine the success or failure of your website. You must do major research on the keyword or keyword phrases that will be the focal point and drawing card for your website. More on web design keywords.

You must get this right. It is vital. It is the single most important element of a website. You can use keyword research software and sites such as GoodKeywords, Wordtracker.com, Nichebot.com, or your own research. Contact us to find out more - Sunshine Coast 0407 589 420.

Regardless of what process you favour, you must choose your keywords very carefully. You must check the competition for your chosen keywords or phrase. You must check the number of searches made each month for your keyword. You must also check the keyword density of your page to see if it will register in the search engines. You may have to adjust or fine-tune your keyword density at a later date.

2. Simple Web Design

Keep it simple. You must keep your web design simple and direct. Keep it professional. Make sure it is readable and clear to all your visitors. Do a spell check. Do a grammar check. You may also want to check how your web design looks in all types of browsers (www.anybrowser.com). Better safe than sorry. Carefully consider whether you should use flash. Read our full article - web design flash?


Keep your visitors in mind at all times when designing your website. Keep it on topic, keep it related to your keywords. Most marketing studies show that's it's best not to confuse your visitors with too many options. If you're selling a product or products, limit the number on each page to one product if you can.

If you have a comparison page, limit the number to three or four. Studies also show that if you present too many options or products, the conversion rate goes down, not up. Keep all your products related. If you have a page on laptops, don't start discussing the benefits of owning a SUV.

Keep your sentences short and the number of words on a page down to 200 to 300. Many sites break up longer articles into multi-pages, this will be of some inconvenience for your visitors but you will have more room for advertising - your call.

3. Optimised

Let's face it; the average website will get most of its traffic from the search engines, mainly Google, although MSN and Yahoo are also worthwhile. Optimise your page for Google. Use a simple hierarchy; keep your pages no more than three clicks away from the main page. Linking all your pages to your index page is a good practice, always do this. The search engines will find your page faster if it is linked directly from the main index page of your site. More on web design marketing.

If you are going to blog and please this is not for everyone. Blogging is something that needs to be done every day! Most business owners get tired of this very quickly. However; using blogging software/structure that comes with such free blogging software as Wordpress will optimise your pages for you. Blogging systems have a linking hierarchy (categories, archives, etc.) that are very search engine friendly. It's almost impossible not to optimise your pages if you're using a blogging system. Plus, you have an RSS feed that will syndicate your content and place it into the search engines very quickly.

Ask us to check factors such as Mega Tags, title description and content. Use a robots text file for the search engine robots.

4. Easy Navigation

A great website will have easy and simple navigation. Link your page to and from your main index page if you can. Make sure you link to it from your sitemap page. Many webmasters put all the main links on their site at the top or the bottom of all their webpages, so that a visitor can freely move around and find what they're looking for. Keep your visitors' comfort level in mind at all times.

Double check to see all links on your webpage work! You may be surprised how many don't work, especially if you link out to other sites. The search engines don't like broken links, neither will your visitors. More on website links from September 2004 - still relevant today!

Also double check to see if all images on your page display properly. Nothing will bring down the quality of your page faster than images that don't load.

5. Fresh Content

A great website will always have fresh content. Make sure you update your website often. Our world's technology changes rapidly, make sure your material is current and still relevant. More on web design research.

Remember, 9 times out of 10, the only reason a visitor is on your page is for information. Make sure you deliver. Make sure that information is recent and accurate. Besides, there is nothing like fresh content to keep your visitors interested and coming back for more. If you are too busy; 12website pty ltd has a maintenance program to provide this for you.

6. Bookmarkable

A great website will always be bookmarkable. Your visitor will want to bookmark your page and return to it for more information. Make sure you make it easy for your visitor to bookmark your page. Use a bookmark script. Make sure you have a favicon, this is a small logo you place on your site and it will be automatically picked up and displayed in your visitor's bookmarks, drawing attention to your page. Consider a bookmark and favicon like bread crumbs, all leading the visitor back to your page.

7. Cool

Every great website should have a WOW factor! Try to make your page stand out from the crowd. Try to make it unique, try to make it cool. Just remember, a simple professional web site with valuable information is always cool. And remember there is nothing like a little good 'word of mouth' to get some traffic drawing PR for your page. Great buzz about your web site is worth its worth in gold.

When we are designing a web site, we create your website with all of the characteristics listed above. We start with your keywords, keep it simple, proof-read and test for coding errors, create good navigation and optimise for the search engines. We can also make sure we provide valuable fresh content and information through our maintenance program we offer. We make your website memorable and bookmarkable. Designing a professional website that will be superior to the majority of other pages on the web is the guarantee that 12website pty ltd offers.

Disclaimer

12website.com has prepared the supplied information as a voluntary service to the online community. The information is necessarily web design and small business in nature and is not intended to be relied upon other than as general background material. This should not be used as specific advice, recommendations or guidance, and specialist assistance should be sought by anyone in need of such help. 12website.com accepts no liability under any circumstances for any loss, expense, damages or costs whether direct or indirect (including loss of profits / damage to business) which may be incurred by any person as a result of relying on or using in whole or in part any of the supplied information.

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