For Better Web

Website Redesign: Your Main Objectives

admin — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:55:39 +0000

While you are busy going through your argos.co.uk discount codes, you begin to think about your own website and the need to have it redesigned. Good call. But what should your main objectives be in the redesign process? It is important to realise that redesigning your website means that the whole website will be revamped. So the new website will have a totally different feel and look.

Your Redesigning Goals

There must be a purpose to your redesigning your website. The website redesigner will need to sit and discuss your aims and analyse what will make the site more effective. Keep in mind that not only the site owner must be please but also the visitors. So when your goals are set they must be focused on.

Analyse the Current Design

Look at the different aspect of your current website and decide on what is working and what is not. If possible you can re-implement aspects of the current design within the new design.

Pay Attention to the Structure of The Website

Chances are you website will grow is size requiring more and more content and WebPages. Your site must be able to accommodate the growth of the site. A good website structure will enable information to be found by visitors and accommodate the growing content.

Layout

How the content of the website is laid out affects how it is presented. If the layout is a good one then the feel and look of the site will appeal to the visitors. Always make prominent the more important areas of your website when redesigning so that visitors can easily find them. Also ensure that your site is easily navigated. No visitor wants to going round and round looking for information.

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Homepage Design: How To Make It More Usable

admin — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:25:38 +0000

When you build a website it is very important that you keep in mind that your online presence is heavily influenced by your website’s homepage. The first impression visitors will have of your business is formed at first sight of your homepage. Your homepage should be an introduction to the website and to entice visitors to keep browsing through the site. To this end it is important that your website homepage is properly designed and usable, but you don’t necessarily need to contact IT support in London to do it. Here are some things you can do to make your homepage more usable.

Use a Catchy Tagline

Create a homepage tagline that gives some information on the business sand the company in general. From the tagline visitor will know what they need to know about your company and its business. Tagline also helps in catching the visitor’s attention.

Make The Title Tag Meaningful

Make sure your company’s name is in the title tag and that it is also followed by a brief website description. Try to stay away from using words such as ‘The’ or ‘Welcome’ as they tend to take up space and offer no value. What you should do is to include in the tag those highly relevant keyword phrases and keywords.

Include Key Tasks

So that visitors are not fumbling around when they arrive at your website you should include links that act as a clear starting point. These links will direct them to the relevant areas of the site.

A Search Box Is Important

A search box will enable visitors to find the exact information they are looking for by simply doing a search. Often visitors are inpatient and just want to get where they want.

The ABC of Website Design

admin — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 09:25:42 +0000

Making a website can be a very daunting thing for the absolute beginner but it needn’t be so. With a little time and effort you can throw together a simple and functional website that will increase your web presence and get you noticed on the internet. One thing is for certain - it’s got to be easier than try to find locum doctor jobs.

First off you need to get something to code basic HTML in. There are a number of free editors available for you. I personally prefer EditPlus as it has nice colour coding and easy file management with a great layout - http://www.editplus.com/
Other free options include Coffee Cup HTML Editor which is also free and very functional - http://www.coffeecup.com/free-editor/
If you want to take the plunge and download DreamWeaver then you can use it to design your website using a graphical interface as well as just the HTML, but remember to learn how to edit some basic HTML before you start otherwise you will be lost! It can be purchased or downloaded for trial here - http://www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver/

Next you are going to have to learn HTML. I recommend working your way through the tutorial on the W3Schools.com website, and excellent free site that will tell you everything you need to know about coding HTML. http://www.w3schools.com/html/
Next, you’ll need to learn some CSS to do the layout of your page. http://www.w3schools.com/css/

Once you’ve done all of this you’ll be good to go! You can use some tutorials online to develope a basic layout then develope it into the site you want. Here’s an example: http://www.subcide.com/articles/creating-a-css-layout-from-scratch/

If you need any help picking colours for your site, try Adobe’s Kuler site to get some ideas: http://kuler.adobe.com/

Finally for image editing you can use either GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) which is totally free and every easy to use, or you can download or purchase Adobe Photoshop if you are a bit more hardcore about your image editing (BEWARE: Photoshop is *not* for the faint hearted).
GIMP: http://www.gimp.org/downloads/
Photoshop: http://adobe-photoshop.en.softonic.com/

Best of luck!

On New Websites

admin — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 08:29:44 +0000

Getting a new website is a tricky thing: most companies have more than a few questions and many of them are related to the area of branding and colour schemes. For example, how do you update your website and keep it subtle and not too different…while also making it different enough that people really say WOW! It’s tricky, but here are our ideas on how to do it right: 1) If your business is called something like Independent financial advisors uk then don’t make it too fun and quirky. Obviously your old website might have been a bit drab, but it’s important to keep it classy and mature looking. In this case you want to use bold but smart colours. Think of your site as a smart suit. You wouldn’t be caught dead in a bright orange and green one, would you? No, gun-metal grey would be much more in keeping. 2) You don’t have to do a complete revamp all at once. Some companies change their logo first, then change their site after a while, once people have grown accustomed to it. It’s up to you really, but don’t make too big of a change to begin with, otherwise you risk loosing clientèle. If you are going to do a big change all at once, at least make sure your web optimisation is up to standard, so that people will always find you. 3) One thing often overlooked is advertising. For example, if you are going to be advertising with posters then you need to make sure they match your new website, For this reason, the colours on the website need to look good in print too, otherwise you’ll be hurting peoples eyes and they won’t thank you for it.

When Meeting Up

admin — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 07:59:45 +0000

You get the call: you’ve been invited to go and meet Financial advisors Glastonbury and show them your graphic design portfolio! But there’s a spanner in the works and that spanner is one that is about to rip your head off, because it’s sharp as a razor don’t you know: you don’t HAVE a portfolio, do you, idiot? No, you winged it, thinking that they’d never agree to your pitch anyway… Oh dear. I’d like to say that worse things happen at sea but they don’t, not as far as I’m aware. No, boats are relatively safe…it’s them graphic designers fresh out of a media studies course you’ve got to watch out for… Here is how to go about solving this ridiculous situation. 1) Get something for your portfolio. I’m not suggesting you steal another graphic designer’s stuff, because clearly that’s wrong, but I am suggesting you get a gig quicksmart. A free gig, anything really. Just get someone to agree to you doing some designing for them, even if it’s Mrs Hump next door and she doesn’t even know what a monitor is… 2) Dress smart: do this for obvious reasons – to distract them from your thinner than thin portfolio. Focus on your enthusiasm for the job and when they ask you why you don’t appear to have a CV either invent a lie pronto or be in possession of a time machine fast… 3) The CV: you should have done this before, but I’m going to assume you are reading this before an important meeting, and if you didn’t read it before then that’s your own stupid fault me thinks. Lesson learned. 4) You can be honest: potential employers would appreciate knowing you don’t have much experience. They may not even mind too much, providing you have references to vouch for you (who are not Mr or Mrs Hump). 5) Good luck!

Be Better, Learn From Me

admin — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 07:59:44 +0000

It’s daunting, being a web designer. One of the key daunting-points (I may even patent that expression because I think it’s quite good) is that you are expected to completely understand what a client wants out of their web design with sometimes very little communication and usually barely any turnaround time. Then, they wonder how comes you’ve got it not 100% right… Here are my tips for how to do a good service the first time round. Believe me, take heed or face the consequences… 1) You need all the information. See their face drop when you asked them yet another question about the colour of their hair restoration site’s homepage (yes, this is one I did recently…)? See them stare at you as though you just gave them some dog-gob soup and put a gun to their head, their fist clench? Doesn’t matter. You need as much input as possible at the very early stages. So be brave. Ask away. If you don’t you’ll only waste time re-doing things later… 2) Agree on a price. Or at least a price band, so that there’s no confusion later on. Website design is a tricky thing, and the more STYLE they want to add, the more it’s going to have to cost. Doesn’t matter that you are new to the game. You’re a business and that’s all that matters, end of story. 3) Don’t accept input from numerous different people: this can be an absolute killer. Work with ONE person only, otherwise you risk contradicting all the different opinions and then things definitely won’t look pretty…