Seo Louisville

Effective Website Design
Author:Shaun Tinnell
Directory One

The other day I was sitting with a co-worker and he was explaining how much more he sold while wearing a suit compared to just wearing casual wear. Well, as you may have heard - a first impression goes a long way. This relates to a person’s appearance and the first time you meet them. The same goes for a website when you look at it for the first time. The real question is whether your website is wearing a suit or not? When you go to your website, does it give a good first impression and represent the type of business you are running? If the answer to these questions is no, then you may want to think about some change on your website.
When I visit a site that looks like it was in style when Alta Vista was a major search engine, I usually wonder how outdated their products or service is as well. Your website may be the only thing a potential client can see before making a purchase and it should be a good one. While appearance is a major factor in the web site, there are also other issues which can make a buyer cringe and leave your site.
There are three major components you should pay attention to when evaluating your site:
• The appearance: It should have a modern look that displays company colors, company theme, and represents the business you run. A great way to do this is with photos that add a personal touch with colors like red for active and earth tones for a serene feel. Your site should cater to its audience. If it is a site for children, then it should have colors and pictures a child can identify with.

• The functionality: Probably the most important factor. Your site should be laid out so that the user can navigate the site easily, while it tells them how to react to the site. An example of this would be a button on the site that says “click here” for more information or something to that effect. There is a reason for them to be on your website and you must be able to clearly tell the user that when they get there. At the end of the visit on the site, they should have either bought a product online, given information for a follow up, sent an email telling what they need, or accessed the information they where looking for. Functionality is the small things like putting the number in the top right corner of the site, because that is where most people find the phone number on websites. Having a good call to action goes a long way on a website.

• The content: The content that is found on the page should be conveyed in a professional and competent manner. Content on the web page should also be geared towards your audience. You do not want to have writing that only a person with a PhD can understand or an audience of 10 year olds. The content on the page is how you explain why your product or service is different or better than all of your competitors. You should spend more time on the content for the site more than any other aspect.

By using these tips as a guide as well as looking at what others in your industry are doing you can create a functional, well laid out and written website. Once you get these basic components down on the website you can then explore creative ways to display this information and tools that will also help the user. Here are some effective website designs as well as some bad website designs and web design tips to help you tell the difference.

If you are thinking that the next step of your marketing should be a website, then there is much to consider before choosing a web design company in Louisville. There are many web design companies in Louisville to choose from and you may begin to wonder what is the difference in each company? There is some information that is important to know before researching a web design company to build your business’s website.

I have found many cases where a potential client comes in the office and sits down with excitement and enthusiasm about marketing their costly new website. To there dismay they get news from the new bad guy that their website, although well designed, was not designed with marketing in mind. Making a choice like this is much like picking an outfit to wear when you don’t know what the weather will be like. This one mistake can cost a company thousands of dollars and time.

Before looking for a web design company, you should prepare for what they need and prepare for what you will need, before sitting with a web design firm. This short list will help provide you with the proper information to qualify and inform your web design candidate.

Things the Web Designer Should Know
* What is the purpose of your site (Sell products online, Informational, Sales tool)
* What makes your site different from the rest (Free offers, Customer support, Coupons)
* What is you target Market (Houston, U.S., Income Level, Age)
* Theme (Color, Background, Navigation)
* Pages needed with content and pictures

Things you Should know about the Web Designer
*Client Portfolio (Make sure web designs are modern and functional)
*Should write code in HTML CSS(Cascading Style Sheets)
*Keyword knowledge and keywords are written as text not image

The questions for the web designer should be asked prior to the meeting, to make sure that this candidate meets all the requirements. This will help them build your website business as more user friendly and more SEO friendly. Following these steps will get you the most for your money, but you will have to use some character judgment or call past clients.

Building a website is a lengthy process and requires good communication from both the business and the design firm. By finding someone who understands and communicates your business model in the website, you will be able to capture the viewer as you do - with the charm of a store front shop. To view more articles and tools for web design tips.