Having a web site is definitely the first step towards getting a higher income for your business, however not doing it right will at least make you waste your time, some of your money and ultimately become harmful for your business.
Let´s learn the basic steps one must consider when developing a good yet affordable web site:
Get the basics
•    First things first, define the kind of web site you want, the applications you want to have on them and the move forward.
•    A domain name (business.com, business.net, etc.) It will be the virtual address your clients will use to find your web site.
•    A hosting, after you have selected your domain name your hosting will keep every single thing that goes on your web site; it is there where all the magic happens.
Steal the goodies
•    Determine exactly who your audience is going to be: where do they live, age, sex, income? Is your product or service going to be sold locally, nationally or globally?
•    Check out what your competitors are, see what they are doing that is working for them and see how you can use those ideas for your own benefit.
Design
•    There is a general misconception of graphic design services being the cute thing on web site development. Graphic must be kept simple, clean, organize and relevant to actually give any extra points to your web site.
•    Avoid over doing it with a million design elements. Keep your hand off heavy flash animation that will make your site slower.
•    Include a site map; let users know where they are at all times. Indicate them clearly where to go if they get lost.

Content
•    The single most important thing on your web site; content should kept simple, fluent, relevant, accurate and dynamic.
•    Use plenty of keywords on your content that will bring you clients through search engine searches.
It is imperative that you understand the importance of designing a web site; more so on doing it pro. Visit www.ilikewebsitedesigners.com to put your business on expert hands.

We have established the importance of having your business online and exposed to the thousand million users that navigate Internet on a daily basis. Beyond simply exposing your businesses to targeted audiences, e commerce web sites allow you to have a virtual store. Imagine sales coming from all over at a click distance!

E commerce is defined as “the online transaction of business, featuring linked computer systems of the vendor, host, and buyer.” In plain English; you have a businesses that sell something, you have people out there looking for what you sell and the transaction is done on an online platform.
E commerce: main advantages
•    Flexible catalog and online updating- Work your catalog however you want and upgrade your stock rapidly based on whatever system you choose (brand, reference and manufacturer.)

•    Reduce advertising cost- Compete at the same level with major brands; level your prices, quality and availability. Better yet? No need to spend huge of money on advertising!

•    Market whenever to whomever- A website allows you to reach all different audiences in the convenience of their own home, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

•   Convenient- Avoid unnecessary mailing and phone calls.

•    Lower your cost- Invest more on selling and less on employees, sites, phone calls, faxing. Etc.

•    No middlemen- It is you doing business directly with your clients, without intervention or sales person.
•    Clients adore it- They can shop on their own pace from the comfort of their houses or offices. They will feel the absolute control of the transaction.

•   Secure payment- Encrypted payment technologies allow a completely secure payment system online for e commerce sites.
An e commerce site is a great alternative for any businesses looking to expand or improve their selling possibilities. Visit www.ilikewebsitedesigners.com to get your professional e commerce site.

Splash Pages in Website Development

Splash on Internet! What does it means in Web development? Well, when you land on a website, sometimes an extra window appears before seeing the homepage. Basically that’s a splash page.

Also known as splash screen, it is “a term used to describe an image that appears while a computer program is loading”. Moreover:

• That image also works on websites, not only software.
• It’s used to notify that the main site is loading.
• While people are waiting, those images serve for introducing the site and bring people the background about your site.
• Not always fill the entire screen; usually they are a rectangle over the home page.
• A splash page disappear when the loading process finish.

Why is it used on Internet?

• As I told you, it’s usually used for introducing people about your site.
• That page can make effective first impression of your company or business.
• Many times splash pages in web design let people choose a language, country or the right configuration for a better use of the site.
• It works as a complement to the home page.
• A splash screen can be a benefit when you need to include an important information or message that is only needed one day or one week; then it disappears and the site remains the same.
• Sometimes webmasters include advertising.
• In United States, by law, pages with pornography, alcohol or gambling must include a splash page for preventing people about the content.

Do I have to use it or not?
It depends. Many times a splash screen can help you: if your site is heavy, an introductory image with an explanation or something that captive the user’s interest is excellent for invited them to stay. But, by the other hand, it could be annoying and many people will leave the page before it finishes loading.

Think about advantages and disadvantages it carries; but use it if it’s absolutely necessary. If you decide to create one, designers have a big challenge for making a splash screen as appealing as possible. Using Flash is a good solution, through a nice animation, people can stay.

For preparing and designing those pages, hire a professional; don’t leave that responsibility in amateur’s hands.

Home Page, the King of Your Site

Once someone clicks on a link to your web page or write the URL, your homepage is the door of your virtual office. The most important thing in web development is to create an appealing gateway that attracts people and invites them to stay, explore it and motivates them to make a purchase.

The homepage “is the URL or local file that automatically loads when a web browser starts or when the browser’s “home” button is pressed. You can turn this feature off and on, as well as specify a URL for the page to be loaded”.

Home page, the most important section

• It is the first impression of your company on Internet. Make a strong inkling of your business.

• Once someone land on your site, her/his decision to stay take seconds; your home page has the responsibility of catch their interest.
• A home page is the heart of navigation structure.

• It has to contain the main idea of the entire site, the main links and short descriptions of each service and product.

How to structure the home page?

1. How are you going to structure in an effective way? Planning is the most important. Think of your objectives before creating the page.
2. Keep in mind your type of business and target market: if you offer design, movies or entertainment, a static or simple design based on a template will be disastrous. In the same way, if you’re a lawyer, a full-color page isn’t appropriated.
3. What are you offering? It has to be obviously clear.
4. You can include a flash animation or an intro, that’s appealing but be careful with the size: too heavy will make your page slow.
5. Include your logo and company’s name.
6. Write a short and informative text that summarize your business; not all the info, that’s the function of the rest of the pages. Tell the main idea of your business in few words.
7. Include attractive graphics.
8. Think of the main links you are going to use (and its names). Try to use keywords on it if is possible. How the links are going to be presented? In a bar, drop-down menu, at the top or left? Experts suggest a bar at the top because that zone receives many glances and people don´t have to scroll down.
9. Think of download time! A heavy page is useless; people are not going to waste minutes while your page is loading.
10. Include a ‘search box’. That’s gold, especially for huge sites. Just writing few words, people can go where they want.

Professional web designers are expert in structure, design, navigation and know what works. Don’t improvise; hire a company which will do an excellent job for take your business above your competitors.

In web design, images, colors, animations, navigation and structure is essential but isn’t everything. What about an appealing site with poor content? The look is vital, but the most important thing is an informative, accurate and well-written text.

Designing your website you can use all your forces to build a nice page, but the effort will be futile if the content is useless, poorly written or inadequately structured. Give people yummy words, new visions and catching titles.

Information you provide can attract people, invite them to explore your site, share it with friends and return. For that reason, the written content has to be though according to your objectives and your target market.

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I’m sure you don’t like those unattractive pages that still surround the World Wide Web. Yes, 10 years ago, websites were made with a simple table, a superior bar, a graphic at the left and filled of endless text. Nowadays, thinking of that it’s something crazy… There are a lot of possibilities in web design and mistakes of the past must be overcome.

In the first part, we saw errors to avoid in web design. Enjoy the second part of this series, while you’re learning what you never have to do in web development:

1. The website has to be easy to explore. None page must be more than two clicks away. read more »
   

Vintage, a new trend in web design

Recycling ideas, using old stuff, giving new meanings to past ages… Designers are going to the back to rescue previous fashion styles and to revive them. The use of vintage style is growing in website development, based on catching elements of past times.

The word ‘vintage’ was copied from the process of picking grapes; but nowadays is used for referring to elegant and old clothe. In web design, that style is becoming more and more popular, especially for clothing shops, corporate designs, news, stationery businesses and blogs, but any company can explore this way of designing that is stealing glances.

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Impact the eyes of users! That’s the key for attracting people in web design… As we use to say: everything comes through the eyes and the first impression counts. Internet allows many possibilities for advertising and the design of a banner ad campaign can give you the hand.

Let’s explore this kind of announcement that brings you great advantages in marketing web design.

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