Web Design That's Effective for both You And Your Target Audience
Get it done right the first time!
For an effective website design, the web design must:
- Be consistent with the Client's Brand
- Appeal to target audience
- Be an accurate representation of the company on the web
- Be geared towards conversions
A website is the face of your business to the entire world that is available 24/7. If your website is dated, rundown, or looks cheap, then your company will look cheap and tacky to the public. It is very important to have a solid website design that represents your business to the world in the highest quality manner possible or you will be missing out on potential business. Statistics show that a user will only be on a website for a few seconds before deciding whether they want to leave, or explore the site. This means that first impressions are everything! People online are usually very impatient so it is important to convert them to your websites goal as soon as you can through functionality and design. If the goal of your website is to show off your services and work, and convert someone to calling you, your website should be geared to do that with both design and functionality.
Be Easy To Use And Navigate
If your website is confusing, whether it be hard to find what people are looking for, or just an incredibly annoying interface, people will leave and you will miss out on potential business! Threee important things to focus on when it comes to an effective web design are:
- Navigation - Placement, Design, and Word Choice
- Design - Layout and Placement of content, and other elements
- Integration and Accessibility - Make sure the features that you want people to use/find are prominent and easily accessible
A web design should be intuitive and should not require thinking or "figuring out" from the visitor. Keep the User Experience a positive one and making it easy for the visitor to learn about you and your business/services will result in more leads and customers!
Be Optimized for Search Engines
For best Results, It is best to be SEO friendly from the start of your project. Many web designers don't understand the concepts of SEO and will create website made out of images - wondering why their sites don't get ranked.
A few basic things to keep in mind:
- Navigation - Keep your navigation text links instead of being image-based.
- Text - Keeping a good keyword density in your website's content, as well as understanding how to implement H1 header tags will result in better search engine rankings.
- Footer - It is a common practice in SEO now to include a link to every page on your site in the footer. (depending on site size)
Learn more about website optimization and search engine optimization.
Be Easy to Update
A great web design not only takes into consideration what needs to go on the site today, but what could go on the site in the future. It is important to have a flexible design that can allow for updates and changes that will happen down the road including:
- More/Fewer Pages
- More/Less Content
- More/Fewer Images
Choose the right web designer for your website project:
There are many web firms/companies/designers out there both locally and worldwide. Here are some tips in choosing the right designer for your project:
1. Delivery - Make sure they can provide the service/solution for your business needs.
- I am a very accomplished web designer and can turn your vision into reality.
2. Experienced and Knowledgeable in SEO - Make sure they can deliver you a product that allows your target market to find you.
- I have been studying SEO and link building extensively for two years now. I have an impressive Portfolio of Google Placement work that I have done for clients. Several design firms in town have approached my for my SEO services and knowledge.
3. Shared Vision - Make sure they understand and work with you on a vision for your website.
- I take personal interest in your project and business and will offer a solution that I think is best for your company.
4. Experience - View their portfolio and ask for references.
- I have an extensive portfolio and can provide you with multiple referrals of satisfied clients.
5. Value - Ask for a free quote your website project. A website is a long term investment and should not be something that you take the cheapest route to get. While value is important, keep in mind that if you have to redo your website a year from now because you went with who would do it for the least as opposed to focusing on quality, you really aren't saving money.
- I consider myself on the higher-end of quality when it comes to websites. The advantage I have however, is I'm not currently renting out big office space or employing 50 employees. This allows me to be very competitive on pricing but still offer a great product.
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