| Top Web Hosting Provider of The Month: |
 |
| Visit Bluehost.com | Read Bluehost Review |
|
|
| >> Web Hosting Geeks // Web Hosting Articles // Web Design |
|
|
 |
Creating A Quality Web Site Design!
In this article, I will attempt to cover the basics of creating a great quality web design template for your site. Now it's a known fact that the layout or "eye candy" as I put it will determine whether your visitors will stay more than 15 seconds or they will just become another statistic. That's right, if you don't catch your visitors attention right away, statistics shows us that your visitors will come and go within 15 seconds or less. That doesn't leave you with a lot of time to grab someone's attention! Some of you may be asking yourself: Well why does this happen???? See when you think about it, 15 seconds to the "browsing eye" is like an eternity. In other words, it takes about 15 seconds for the average person to browse your main page and determine whether they will explore your site further! So with that being said; How do we grab your visitors attention???? Every new client of mine is asked to perform the same tasks. I ask them to explore their competitor's web sites and look for specific triggers that would make them want to click on or buy right away. More times than none, my clients will notice specific "Headlines" or "Graphics" that really peek their interest. In doing this, you'll have 1st hand knowledge on what you expect your visitors will see and possibly expect themselves. Step 2, I'll ask my clients to do one more process just like the previous one. I'll ask them to make a list of all the "eye candy" that really caught their attention and write me a little note as to why it caught their attention. In doing this, it will give your web designer a 1st hand knowledge on what to implement within your site!!! With these great tasks, you've made your job and the job of your web designer a lot easier to target your audience. Sites that sell "Web Site Templates" : You may have seen some sites that sell your the right for a specific "Template Style". There are 100's of resources out there. I need to clarify something for you, these templates are targeted at web designers only!!! Reason being, the files that you receive will no doubt require some expensive and time consuming software just to open them. Now being a designer, I'm not about to "knock" pre-made templates but there's a couple of things you may want to consider: 1) Although the templates you may encounter are very impressive, you will be sharing your layout template with 100's, maybe 1000's of other sites. The reason why they are so cheat is because those "specific templates" are sold and re-sold as much as possible! 2) I've noticed that many template examples out there on the web are extremely "Graphic Driven". This will result in "slow loading times". I'm sure we've all come across a site that seemed to take FOREVER to load!! How long did you actually wait for the site to load???? The best way to get a template is to have someone professional design your web site layout for you! This will ensure that your template is uniquely designed for your business. It will be easier for you to make changes in the future. Typically, a template may cost you between $0-$500 depending on the intensity and added features! Now, we've talked about "Slow loading pages". I've found a good "norm" to stick with when it comes to size and speed: Web sites are compiled of 2 elements: 1) Graphics & Layouts 2) Programming & Pages Both of them require memory from your computer when downloading them. If one or the other is too large then this may result in negative results for your visitors. Here's a good norm to stick with, either you or your web designer should stick with these specs: 1) Graphic Design Layout: Should be no more than: 30-50K in size 2) Programming Pages: Shouldn't be more than: 10-30k in size Giving your entire web page no more than 40k-80k in size. Anything drastically more will result in the loss of many visitors from slow downloading pages. Animation: Last but not least, making "some" aspects of you page stand out by adding small size animations. PLEASE NOTE: DO NOT overkill your site with graphics and animation!!! I can't stress this enough, your visitors will most likely get a head ache from it and won't be coming back very soon. Instead, try targeting specific promotions or services you wish to attract your visitors to right away! Many sites exchange "animated banners" with other sites to exchange traffic. I personally NEVER take part in adding ANY banners on my site. I honestly feel that banners only take away from the design, not add to it! A typical "Banner Dimensions" is 468px x 60px. There are many other sizes! What I will usually take part in, if any, is smaller, more unique banners that are geared to complimenting an article or text with it. This is much more effective because study shows us that "Content (text)" accompanied by a "graphic image" is more likely to be read by our visitors than just text on its own. That about wraps it up to having an effective web site template. Please look for my "continued" issues related to this article. About The Author Martin R. Lemieux President Smartads Information Centre Advertising, Marketing Resources & Web Design Webmasters Playground Webmaster Awards & Web Design Resources http://www.flyinggelatingames.com WANT TO REPRINT THIS ARTICLE ? You may use this article on your site as is but you MUST send me a note support@smartads.info Thank You!
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Give Your Web Wite Visitors What They Really Want - Information! Surfing the internet is basically an information-fest! From intellectual discussions to the bizarre.. Why Do Images Disappear from a Webpage? In learning webpage design, I encountered many problems that took lots of practice to resolve. Although, I was building web pages using Microsoft Frontpage on my home computer, I used to face lots of issues after uploading the webpage to my website. Browser Compatibility Internet Explorer, created by microsoft has been the most popular web browser for many years. But the gap is shrinking with the release of Mozilla Firefox, by an open source community. Web Page Building for Beginners 2 A search engine robot actually reads the wording on your web pages and places a certain amount of importance on what the content says, but not quite like a human does. A human will place the words together in their head and try to decipher the relevancy to them personally and decide within a few seconds whether they will continue reading or click to another site, whereas a robot counts words and places all relevancy in the numbers it finds. 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. Ten Tips For Your Web Site Home Page 1. Loading time:try to be below 20kbless number of imagesspecify height and width of imagesHtml with out errosWYSIWYG editors load up your html code. Website Redesign for Existing Websites Does your website need a re-design? Here are some questions to ask yourself when you are looking for investing in your website redesign.1) Is your website fresh - Having a website fresh helps your visitors to stay on your website rather than skipping your website? When I mean fresh, fresh with content, Every website owner should have their website updated with latest content, Search engine spiders index new content and in turn your website will rank high on search engines. How To Improve The Professional Look And Feel Of Your Website Projecting a professional image is paramount to your website's success. It can make or break your online business. Increasing Conversions Through Action-Oriented Copywriting I do site reviews. Needless to say, I see a lot of Web copy. Why Not To Use Web Design Templates For Your Website In today's age of fast food and high-speed Internet, a business may be tempted to take the "more convenient" route in launching a website - buying a template and customising it.Website design templates are like off-the-shelf websites and are targeted at people who believe that launching their own, unique and differentiated website is costly and time consuming, which need not be the case. Website Basics The Basics You have a flourishing business - everything is in its place. You just miss one important piece of marketing: an Internet Presence a website. Imitation, The Smartest Form Of Flattery Unless you are an inventor, most likely you are selling a product or service that is being offered by someone else, somewhere, at some time. The first person to start your type of business would have gone through a lot of trial and error. Choosing A Web Designer : A Plan to Guide You Through The Minefield Choosing a web designer can seem like a daunting task. They come in all shapes and sizes - from freelancers working at home to glossy new media agencies, and there is as much variation in prices and service as there is in size. Web Design for Ecommerce Your website is your tool for showing the online community an image of your Drop Ship retail business. Whether or not your business succeeds depends heavily on your website. Cheap Web Design In London Due to the large number of people offering web design services in London, there is always a bargain to be found.Website design firms in London are in a very competitive market and some offer some great deals at various times of the year. Are Web Templates Worth It? First off, I am a designer. Now you're thinking, here's this guy trying to convince me to hire a designer costing a few hundred to a few thousand dollars instead of buying a pre-made web template for about $60. A Beginners Guide to Web Page Design Designing your own successful web page can seem difficult and nearly impossible if you do not do a little research first. The reason you need to know the basics of web page design is because the design of your website will actually influence whether or not people continue to visit your site and ultimately, whether they will buy from you or not. Marketing Basics for the Webmaster What is the relationship between Marketing and Web designing? How can a better understanding of Marketing help the web designer manage his business more profitably?What is marketing?The American Marketing Association defines Marketing as "the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals". On the other hand, The Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK defines Marketing as "the Management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customers' requirements profitably". How to Make a Website (Minus the Headaches) There is nothing wrong with making your own website if you are looking to save some money. Be prepared however, for your finished product to resemble an after school project; cutesy, homemade touches and all. Attention Grabbing Web Design Will Kill Your Sale! In the of-line marketing world it is all about trying to get the attention of the potential consumer to a commercial message.The primary goal is to get noticed by the public.
|
|
|
|
|
| © 2004 - 2008 "Web Hosting Geeks" | Web Hosting Reviews | Customer Reviews | RealMetrics Reviews | Hosting Articles | Directory | Partners | Contacts Over 7000 articles: web hosting, web development, domain names, ecommerce, web design, site promotion, ppc advertising, seo, site promotion and many others. Web hosting reviews, ratings and awards are not based on any incentives or commissions. Names and trademarks are the properties of their respective owners. A direct link to Web Hosting Geeks (http://webhostinggeeks.com) must be provided in order to use any of the above information. Contact us for more info. Partners: Hosts by speed, Cheap Website Hosting, Free Website Hosting, Cheap Web Hosting, Top 10 Web Hosts, Top 10 Web Hosting Deals, Best Website Hosting, Free Web Hosting, Free Web Hosting, Dedicated Server Hosting, Adult Web Hosting, Web Hosting Discussions, Dedicated Server Reviews, Best Web Hosting, Web Hosting Discounts, HostProfessor.com, rsuog, halyava, PHP Website Hosting Services, Web Hosting Reviews, Hosting Uptime, Best Web Hosting Reviews, Cheap Webhosting, Web Hosting, Flash Templates, CMS Templates, Web Hosting Reviews, Website Hosting Reviews, Web Hosting Providers, Best Web Hosting, Top Web Hosting, RSUOG Web Hosting |
