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Posts Tagged ‘web design’

Web surfers are basically an impatient bunch and if a website is hard to figure out because the links are not obvious, they will click away never to return. Site navigation plays an extremely important role in determining the effectiveness of a website. The following articles is about the core principles of designing website navigations.

It is crucial that the site navigation is easy and makes sense to an average person. Being creative is a good thing, but you can notice that well-designed websites have pretty much the same navigation layouts.

You must never forget the purpose of the site and its potential audience when designing navigational elements. Majority of websites exist to either inform the visitor about a product or service or to sell it. Therefore there are some basic guidelines to follow:

Make sure all navigational elements are clearly links by using standard conventions for links such as buttons, menus, underlining the text or changing color on mouse. Another important thing is that you do not use too clever or unclear names for links.

If you are using non-standard links tell the visitor that it is a link. For instance, suppose you are creating a site where there is a map with a few cities marked on it and you would like to let the visitor click on the city name to find out more about this city. Make sure you inform the user to click on the city name to get more information regarding that city.

It is crucial that you remember about the “Three Click Rule” used by the majority of web developers. Most internet users won’t click more than three links to get to the information they are looking for. Therefore, make sure that the visitor will be able to access every page on your site within three clicks.

Splash elements such as flash movies should be avoided. Make sure that your site design is simple but also attractive. But if you want to use on you should remember to also use META REFRESH tag to take the visitor automatically to your home page after a few seconds and also you must not forget to provide a clickable and clearly marked link or a button so the visitor can skip the entry page, otherwise lots of people will leave your site. Remember that internet users mostly look for information and not entertainment.

Navigation Element Locations

Top Menus – a top of the page menu bar is usually located directly below the page header graphic that contains the site logo. The items in these menus vary from single links to drop down and expanding menus. It is up to you whether each menu item is a graphic or just text. Whichever option you chose you need to hyperlink the elements so that the visitor can click on them and be taken to the information described.

Left Side Navigation – it is usually a column or text area on the left top area of the page. Similar to the top menu, items can be single links or expanding menu.

Right Side Navigation – it is usually not used, but if used it is implemented on the top right section of the site as a column or text area. This place is usually used for ads and not for site navigation.

Bottom Menus – – they can be either a menu bar or footer depending what the designer prefers. Menu bars can be graphics or text links but footer are generally only text links.

Important Navigation Elements

Internal Page Links – Every page on the website should be within two or three clicks from the home page. Make sure that the visitor can reach all the important pages with just ONE. Which links are prominently displayed will be determined by the type of website.

Login Boxes – they should be clearly displayed on the website. Common locations are top left, top right or inside the page header.

Shopping Carts – if you use them to sell products or services remember to display a view cart button on each and every page in a prominent way. The most commonly used location is the top right side just below or as part of the header.

Order Buttons – you need to make them easily visible and large. Less clicks needed to get to your sales page results in better sales.

Breadcrumbs – they are links and a graphical representation of your current location in the site. Their most common location is the top left below the header. Each word is a link back to the previous page. They are in the form

Home-> Articles-> Marketing

External Links – external links can be used anywhere but are most frequently used inside the text areas on a website. They can be used to refer to other sites with additional information, to recommended products or to simply anything you wish.

Advertisements – they are most often hyperlinked banners of text. Ads can be put everywhere on your site, and most people place them under the header, at the bottom of the page and some eve within the text areas of the site. Most developers believe that ads “above the fold” are more effective.

(“Above the fold” refers to the area of a webpage that is visible without having to scroll.)

Downloadable Items – if you offer downloadable items such as audio, video or pdf files, make sure that you tell the user haw big the file is and whether they need an application to use the file. If they do an application, provide a link to the application. If your site offer pdf files for example, link to the free Acrobat reader.

Site Map – site mps are great for displaying the whole site to the visitors. (Search engine spiders also seem to like it).It is just a list of all the pages of your website with clickable links to these pages.

Summary

A good navigation system can increase the numbers of pages viewed by each visitor. More page visited will result in more sales, signups and will surely make your site more successful.

Magicdust specialises in professional web development and online store creation for small businesses. We are not just website designers, we also offer logo design, email marketing and search engine marketing services. With over 1200 clients Australia wide we have the web design and online store development experience to launch your web presence or online store.

We are a simple and reliable answer to your web development or eCommerce needs. All our websites are built on an easy to use, state of the art content management system (CMS) a program which allows you to easily add to and edit the content of your website. Using our CMS you can do this at anytime from anywhere with an internet connection.

Content management is very important. Some web developers offer content management systems that are difficult to use however ours is very user-friendly. It was designed to be simple and logical – as user friendly as Microsoft Word. It allows users to easily add content to the web page design. We have many clients of basic computer literacy happily managing the content of their websites.

We specialise in two main types of website: information based websites and eCommerce or shopping cart websites. For a friendly, obligation free consultation regarding your web development needs email us or call on 1300 309 379.

Over 95% percent of our web design clients are small to medium sized businesses, many with little experience in web page design. Our range of web design, online store, logo and graphic design, email marketing and search engine marketing services is designed for the small business owner. From our prices through to the web development process and the user-friendly CMS and shopping cart, the prompt and efficient support, everything has been designed with the small business owner in mind.

Our online store software is a powerful solution and web development application. The online store software has been designed to be as user-friendly as possible. Designed from a marketing perspective, the online store is both packed with features and simple to use. Whether you are new to eCommerce or have lots of experience, our software is the clear choice for serious e-tailers focused on cost effectively launching, managing and growing a successful online business.

The Magicdust web design team have extensive experience in web development and eCommerce websites that accounts for the successful and smooth creation of your website or online store. We have a team of qualified web designers who follow the international standards for web development that are recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium and endorsed by the Web Standards Group.

Remember we do not stop at web design, in addition to website construction we also have graphics design and logo design services and our specialist eClicks department helps with search engine marketing. We also have the solution to your email marketing needs through our Starmail service which allows you to manage email marketing campaigns both large and small, so you can easily get your newsletters and other email campaigns under control.

OK, so you have come round to the idea that you need an internet prescence. You are fully aware that the future of advertising and gaining new clients will be internet based. What has worked in previous years such as newspaper advertising may well now be a thing of the past. We all have to move with the times if we are to continue to succeed.

The scary thing for many new webmasters is all of the initial costs of setting up a website. I remember all too well just how expensive it was around ten years ago when I had my first website designed and built. It was based on the subject of speech therapy for stammering and I was investing in this new site at a time when I did not have a great deal of money. I have to say that it has proven to be one of the best investments that I have ever made. The website certainly enabled a lot of people to find out about the stuttering therapy service that I offer.

These initial setting up costs include the web design, the web hosting and the purchasing of the domain. Then there are the ongoing costs of web promotion; there is of course no point in having a top notch website if nobody ever visits it.

So how can we ensure that we receive a web design service at an affordable price? Well as in many businesses it is not what you, it is who you know. It is a good idea to ask your friends and colleagues if they know of any professional web designers, especially if these friends or colleagues already have a website. This way you may be able to secure a deal on “mates rates”.

The second way is to speak to freelance web designers as these people usually offer cheaper rates than the web design agencies. Many up and coming web designers start up on their own on a self-employed basis and are normally happy to offer a discount whilst they are building up their portfolio.

Web design tip number one – Use black text on a white background.

Web design that converts visitors into customers must make sure that any sections of text greater than 2 lines uses dark text, preferably black text on a white background.  For blocks of text in your web design you need to forget about fancy font colours and dark backgrounds in your attempt to achieve visual appeal.Not keeping your web design simple so that your message is easy to read is a major mistake made by many designers.

The web design reasons for it include…

In order for you to be able to make a sale to your potential customers.

1. It is important to make it easy for people to absorb the information on your web site. This is done with a clean well designed structure andand colours.
2. Research indicates that having more than a 15% background tint will negatively impact on the effectiveness of your sales message.
3. Your web design needs to be all about conversion and less about the branding.

If you are a small to medium business then selecting a dark text on a white background for main copy usage use is the most sensible and cost effective strategy to use.

Research your keywords early in the process.

A critical step in any internet marketing program is to research the most popular key phrases and target these in your web design.  Then once you know what they you need to make sure that these keywords occur on your website.

Being found in the search engines is the best way to grow your business sales.

Web design is often a less about the design, and more about the copy, because if the copy does not contain the frequently searched for keywords/phrases, then you are never going to get in front of a customer. So make sure that you know which keywords you should be being found for and place these strategically in your text throughout the site.

Web design tip number three – Make your website, visually appealing.

Some graphic designers may be worried that black text on a white background is inconsisitent with making your web site visually appealling.

The truth is that your web site needs to be found in the major search engines and for your information to be clearly communicated (i.e. easily read).  But you must also at all times present your information in a professional manner to engender the customer trust required in order to purchase from you for request information from you.

By the following of these three simple rules above in your business, you will benefit from more sales leads, signups and sales conversions from your web design.

It is fairly easy and even free for a webmaster to use tools to analyse their website traffic, monitor the number of visitors, report of the web pages that have been accessed and the length of time each visitor spends accessing the website.

However, despite the vast amount of detailed information that can be collected what will always be missing is information that will tell the webmaster exactly what the visitor was thinking. Did they like the website? Was the layout clear or confusing? Was navigating the website easy and did they find the information they wanted?

A website may be generating sales but why are there some people that are visiting the website and not buying anything? Was the reason because they didn’t like what was being offered, or was it that they couldn’t find what they wanted even though it was there?

Website surveys provide webmasters with an excellent and accurate method of answering these types of questions. Direct feedback from the website visitors cuts to the chase, no need to guess, just ask the visitors themselves how they found the site and if they found what they were looking for.

With an online survey webmasters can find out:-

• How often do people visit the website?
• How did they reach the website?
• Are they interested in the website for business or pleasure reasons?
• Was the information they were looking for found on the website?
• How easy was it for them to navigate the website?
• Would they recommend the website?

A good website survey will be brief and will gather information that once analysed will provide valuable information to help improve the website.

An alternative to a more traditional customer survey would be to ask just one or two questions at strategic points. One example would be to ask visitors at the end of the registration process if they found the procedure quick and easy; another example would be after ordering an item the customer could be asked if they found the ordering procedure and payment methods to their liking. To make sure that the questions do not become repetitive to regular visitors the website can be programmed so that the questions are only asked once per registered user.

Website surveys take the mystery out of working out what visitors think of a website and using Online Survey Software they are quick and easy to design and once implemented will really become the webmaster’s assistant.

To see a sample website survey please follow the link: Sample Website Survey

It is fairly easy and even free for a webmaster to use tools to analyse their website traffic, monitor the number of visitors, report of the web pages that have been accessed and the length of time each visitor spends accessing the website.

However, despite the considerable data available what is missing is anything to tell the webmaster what the visitor was thinking. Did they dislike the site? Was the layout easy to understand or confusing? Was navigating the website easy and did they find the information they wanted?

A website may be generating sales but why are some people that visit the website not buying anything? Was it because they didn’t like what was being offered or they couldn’t find what they wanted?

Website surveys provide webmasters with an excellent and accurate method of answering these types of questions. Direct feedback from the website visitors means that there is no longer the need to guess, just ask the visitors how they found the site and if they found what they were looking for.

With an online survey webmasters can find out:-

• How often do people visit the website?
• How did they discover the website?
• Are they interested in the website for business or pleasure?
• Was the information they were looking for found on the website?
• How easy was it for them to navigate the website?
• Would they be prepared to recommend the website to others?

A good website survey will be concise and will collate information that once analyzed will provide valuable information to help improve the website.

An alternative to a traditional survey would be to embed one or two survey questions within the website after specific procedures. For example, ask visitors at the end of the registration process if they found the procedure quick and easy; or after ordering an item ask if they found the ordering procedure and payment methods straightforward. To ensure that the questions don’t become repetitive to regular visitors the website can be programmed so that the questions are only asked once per registered user.

Website surveys take the mystery out of working out what visitors think of a website and using Online Survey Software they are quick and easy to design and once implemented will really become the webmaster’s assistant.

To see a sample website survey please follow the link: Sample Website Survey

There are many tools available to a webmaster to analyse website traffic allowing them to monitor the number of visitors, see what pages have been accessed and even the length of time each visitor spends accessing the website.

However, despite the vast amount of detailed information that can be collected what will always be missing is information that will tell the webmaster exactly what the visitor was thinking. Did they dislike the site? Was the layout easy to understand or confusing? Did they find it easy to navigate and maybe the most important thing, did they find the information they wanted?

A website may be generating sales but why are there some people that are visiting the website and not buying anything? Was the reason because they didn’t like what was being offered, or was it that they couldn’t find what they wanted even though it was there?

Online surveys provide webmasters with an accurate method of answering these types of questions. Direct feedback from the website visitors cuts to the chase, there is no longer any need to guess, just ask the visitors directly how they arrived at the site and if they were able to find what they were looking for.

With an online survey webmasters can find out:-

• How often do people visit the website?
• How did they reach the website?
• Are they accessing the website for business or pleasure?
• Were they able to find the information they were looking for?
• How easy was it for them to navigate the website?
• Would they be willing to recommend the website to others?

A good website survey will be short and to the point and gather good intelligence that once analysed will help improve the website.

An alternative to a traditional survey would be to embed one or two survey questions within the website after specific procedures. For example, ask visitors at the end of the registration process if they found the procedure quick and easy; or after ordering an item ask if they found the ordering procedure and payment methods straightforward. To ensure that the questions don’t become repetitive to regular visitors the website can be programmed so that the questions are only asked once per registered user.

Website surveys take the mystery out of working out what visitors think of a website and using Online Survey Software they are quick and easy to design and once implemented will really become the webmaster’s assistant.

To see a sample website survey please follow the link: Sample Website Survey

There are ample tools available to a webmaster to enable them to analyse website traffic and monitor the number of visitors, see what web pages have been accessed and even the length of time visitors spend accessing the website.

However, despite the vast amount of detailed information that is available what is missing is anything to tell the webmaster what the visitor was thinking. Did they like the website? Was the layout easy to understand or just plain confusing? Was the website easy to use and did they find the information they wanted?

A website may be generating sales but why are some people that visit the website not buying anything? Was the reason because they didn’t like what was being offered, or was it that they couldn’t find what they wanted even though it was there?

Using online surveys webmasters have a simple and accurate method of answering these types of questions. Direct feedback from the website visitors cuts to the chase, no need to guess, just ask the visitors themselves how they found the site and if they found what they were looking for.

With an online survey webmasters can find out:-

• How often do people visit the website?
• How did they arrive at the website?
• Is their interest in the website for reasons of business or pleasure?
• Did they find the information they were looking for?
• How easy did they find navigating the website?
• Would they recommend the website to their friends and/or colleagues?

A good website survey will be short and to the point and gather good intelligence that once analysed will help improve the website.

Another alternative to a traditional survey is to embed one or two survey questions within the website after specific procedures. For example, ask visitors at the end of the registration process if they found the procedure quick and easy; or after ordering an item ask if they found the ordering procedure and payment methods straightforward. To ensure that the questions don’t become annoying to regular visitors the website can be programmed so that the questions are only asked once per registered user.

Website surveys take the mystery out of working out what visitors think of a website and using Online Survey Software they are quick and easy to design and once implemented will really become the webmaster’s assistant.

To see a sample website survey please follow the link: Sample Website Survey

Quality interlinks or website, so that the site’s links are a good number of links must be added to the site does not determine the ranking of sites. Crawlers work to have a understanding of a particular site to see if links to your site is worth a watch.
.

Basically link building means adding inbound links in a particular website. Link building is a important process in any search engine optimization as search engines give lot of importance to those websites which have incoming or backward links. However, the link must be based on the quality of good in these themes.

Quality interlinks or website, so that the site’s links are a good number of links must be added to the site does not determine the ranking of sites. The crawlers working on the particular website have a insight to see whether the links added to the site are worth a watch.

Interlinks most search engines consider a website as a vote for, if these are high-quality link and then come back, there can be no better than this.

In general, the link building is divided into three categories – one-way, two way and three way linking. Connected in some way so that we contact a specific site in the zero-cost or no reverse link. This can be easily done by submitting the website in directories,
Articles or Press Releases. On the other hand, in two way linking back links are given to the site whose links we are adding to our site. It is also known as reciprocal linking. In three way linking, a number of websites are added to a particular site and vice versa for link exchange.

Which method of linking suits your website best can be decided only by the Search Engine Optimization Company which is an expert in this field. There are many choices in the market. How you will decide upon depends basically upon you. To choose the best suited seo services Company
For your site, as long as the Internet to get the best of the listed company, or a reliable person who is supporting in this area.

I WANT IT NOW, AND I WANT IT ALL…. I’d rather not have to pay for it. Many people approach web development with three things in mind: I want it to be the best darn thing on the planet and it needs to do everything we need it to, I want it tomorrow, and it should be free.  Here’s the thing about that: That’s like asking a kid to build your house by tomorrow.  Generally speaking… not a terribly good way to go.

The other fact about this is that many web development companies will try to sell you that very same idea, but extremey few, if any, of them can deliver on that promise.  Why do they sell this idea then?  Because it’s what you want and the general fact is your everyday person just doesn’t know the caveats to such a promise.

Let’s talk about the web development trifecta:

1) Cost – We want it cheap

2) Quality – We want it to be perfect

3) Time – We want it by tomorrow

Sounds great right?I certainly believe so.  Now, let’s head back to the land of reality.Most likely, if it’s pretty quick and cheap… it’s going to be terrible.  Why would you pay money for that?The real question is: If it looks like a kindergartener did it, are people going to believe you?  Chances are, even if you can drive traffic to your site, you’ll end up with little-to-no conversions which renders your site useless.

So what are we looking for then?  Odds are you should spend that extra time on your website and get a slighty higher price with a much higher quality.The extra time will help you ensure you get it done right the first go around.  What you are looking for is a site that is easy to understand to the end user, one that effectively sells your brand, and one that looks like you actually care about your customer.  By taking that time to go through the design process with your developer and through the iterations to get it right, you’ll end up with exactly what you want.

In order to get this, it’s best to have experienced web developers that can deliver the high quality and reasonable cost that can get you the conversions you’re looking for.  Website design is an art, and to hand your money to someone who doesn’t know the first thing about design principles is simply throwing your cash away and setting you up for some extreme frustration in the end.

So, as you’re looking for just the right web designers, consider the triangles of cost, quality, and time, and what each company is offering you.  Chances are that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  Another thing to be concerned with is that if they can’t talk to you in a way you’ll understand, they’re probably trying to fleece you. So keep these things in mind as you’re searching for professional website designers and always, always, always find out what you’re getting into!