Web design has become a key issue with all businesses, as web presence continues to become more important to business success. Throwing together a web page just to be online is no longer acceptable. For many companies, the website has become the primary marketing vehicle and in some cases, the business itself. In order to maximise the power of the web, a business must make their website as useful and attractive to customers as possible.
Great web design combines efficiency and aesthetics in a way that becomes memorable and brings users back. The more user-friendly the site is with useful content, the more likely users will bookmark it and keep coming back. Common mistakes made by new businesses and inexperienced web designers are lack of content, with a lack of imagination and understanding of what the web is all about.
Website design has to encompass a vision that conveys a business' objective. There needs to be consistency in the design that creates an intuitive nature about the navigation. When every page looks different, users can get lost and confused. While there is plenty of room to be creative, the best websites follow certain proven standards.
The company logo should be prominent on the home page but doesn't have to be too large. Usually this means the logo is placed at the top or upper left hand corner of every page with a link back to the home page. The main menu of links should also be consistent throughout the site. A sitemap is also essential if you want search engines to effectively index the site.
Content is very important. A fancy website without captivating text is likely to not attract much sustained traffic online, whereas a content-rich site with an attractive layout and graphics will have better success. The content must be organised by keywords so that search engines treat the site as important. If every web page has the same generic title, and each page has minimal text, it simply won't show up well in searches unless it dominates a certain niche.
A website should also be set up so that it's easy to manage and update. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and JavaScript help keep big websites simple so that universal changes to a site can be done in one place instead of editing hundreds of pages when you decide to make changes to the website design. If your site contains a lot of useful information, you will also need a search box. Selling products and services also requires an ecommerce solution.
If you need quality web design, don't try to fake it. Go with experience. Use a web designer who has a broad knowledge of the most important elements that make a great website. There are a lot of ways to make cheap websites, but those sites usually don't benefit a business very much. Choosing a seasoned web designer who understands content, graphics, layout, SEO and integrating the latest web technology is your best bet at developing a website that attracts business.
