Problem:

How to avoid mistakes when designing a website



Solution:


Your business website can act as a mainstream for your online marketing and branding. It can be a major source of communication to build a healthy relation with your customers. If you want to be a successful businessman, you need to understand the importance of a business website to your business.

There are so many entrepreneurs and small business owners who are not getting the real benefits from their business websites. It is due to some mistakes that they have made with their websites. The followings are the common mistakes that you should avoid while creating your website.

Website Layout and Design:

Your website needs to be an attractive and eye catching layout and design.  Choose a unique color scheme with two or three colors and don’t change it for every page and follow the Website Design Checklist to create a successful website. Ensure simple navigation bar and it is easy to use. If your page is long, then also use bottom navigation bar to make your website more user friendly.

Not Enough Information:

Mostly, the websites don’t have enough information. It is a big mistake. When people are searching online, they want complete information right there. They don’t have much time to send an E-mail or connect to you on phone to get more details. Remember, if the visitors do not find the information, they are looking for: they will go elsewhere.

Lack of Credibility:

Trust building is an important thing for online business and many online business owners fail to prove their credibility. Remember, you are competing with millions of websites online, if your website is not trustworthy, your visitors will not convert into buying customers. Add reviews and testimonials of your happy customers; furthermore, add award details that you have won and details about business to build trust.

Search Engine Needs:

Include relevant keywords and phrase in your content to make your website easily understandable for search engine like Google, yahoo and Bing. Add keywords in your website’s title and headings and also use alt tags in your images.

Call to Action:

Make sure what you want from visitors to do on your website and also give complete information of all actions that you want from them. If you want a phone call, provide your phone number and also provide trusted source of payments like PayPal, include details of your service provider on your website.

Assuming People will buy on First Visit:

Almost ninety-eight percent people won’t buy on their first visit to your website. So, it is important to find a way to track them. It can be via attractive offers like sample/free use of your products and e-newsletters, this way you can get their details. Ask them to join you on different social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

Problem:

Top 10 Tips for Choosing a Web Designer for Your Business Web Site



Solution:


Simple. You do your homework on them. Then, you start asking questions and taking notes. There are plenty of web designers available. You want to go with the best because, in fact, your web designer is in essence your partner. You want to choose a designer that takes YOUR business seriously.

What questions do you ask?

There are several important questions to ask when choosing a web designer for your business web site.

Creating your web site can be a tricky process. Choosing the best web design firm for your business web site is a very important decision. And if your company is like most small businesses, you probably do not have web design experience. Building your web site will take time and work. And working with a web designer is no easy task. So choose the right web design company from the start and avoid do-over's, which can be costly and time consuming.

1. What kind of web experience do you have?

For starters, find out what kind of design experience your potential design firm has. Do they have experience with content management systems such as Joomla or Drupal, do they have experience working with "raw" HTML? Has the web design company created web sites similar to yours? Do they have relevant industry experience? If you want to sell products through your web site and accept credit card payments, does the web design company you are considering have experience with ecommerce hosting?

2. Do you have a portfolio that I can review?

An experienced web design company will have a solid portfolio of web sites that they have created for other clients. Ask for links to other site the design company has created and review each one. Do you like what you see? Do the sites have a style that appeals to you?

3. Do you have any references?

In addition to reviewing web sites, ask for customer references. Contact their clients and ask them about their experience with the web design company. Were they happy with the results? Did they get what they paid for? How much did they pay? Would they recommend them? How long did it take? What didn't they like about the company? How responsive was the company when they had questions?

4. What are your prices?

The most important step in pricing is to make sure the potential design company outline all of the prices associated with the work and puts it all in writing. Never enter into a deal unless all of the costs are well understood up front.

Ask them a bit about how they manage payments. If they respond in a very business-like and professional manner, this is a good sign. If they throw out answers like - "Don't worry, we'll manage" or "Whatever you are comfortable with", don't be fooled. This is trouble waiting to happen. Get the price in writing before you begin the project.

5. Do you have experience with search engine optimization?

Most small business owners do not have it in their budget to hire a separate marketing firm to work on search engine optimization (SEO), so it imperative that your web designer have experience in SEO. A good designer will know that design and SEO go hand-in-hand. Designing a web site for search engines with "clean" code that utilizes cascading style sheets is essential to getting your content indexed in the leading search engines, such as Google and Bing.

6. Do you have experience with social media marketing?

Many marketing firms do know the first thing about social media marketing. These firms are stuck in the past and are not as effective as they pretend to be. Be sure that you work with a designer that knows how to setup a Facebook fan page for your business and design a customized Twitter profile. This is important because you will want your social media properties to mesh with the design of your web site. The web site and social media pages should complement one-another.

7. What is your process for designing or building a web site?

Make sure you ask your potential web design company about the process that they use? Do they design a web site or do they build a web site? An experienced Internet professional should understand the difference between these two concepts. If they don't, they're probably not as experienced as they claim to be. Building a web site is a highly technical process, while designing a web site is a highly creative process. Many advertising firms specialize in web site design which does not necessarily require any web development skills whatsoever. At the same time, many firms design web sites, yet out-source the creative portion of the project. Find out from the beginning what the process if for the firm that you are considering.

8. How long will it take?

Perfectionism can be a huge stumbling block in the fast paced world of the Internet. Some designers are unable to compromise between quality and time to market needs. Test: See how long it takes until you receive a proposal.

9. What type of support is offered after web site launch?

If your design firm does not offer web site maintenance, you might want to continue looking. Most reputable design firms will offer "post-launch" maintenance for companies that do not have an in-house webmaster.

10. Which web hosting providers do you work with?

If your design firm does not know the first-names of the contact at their favorite web design firm, then this should raise a red flag. Most reputable web designers know not to choose a web host simply because they are the most popular or because they offer the cheapest web hosting. A reputable web design firm should know who to call and how to get results! Does your web designer work with a green hosting company? Environmentally-friendly web hosting is becoming more and more popular for business web sites looking to implement an eco-policy.

Getting a little recognition on the W3 is hard, even in a niche market (especially in a niche market). You have less than 10 seconds to convince a site visitor to stick around long enough to learn about the quality of your services, your products or your message. Web surfers are jagged out on information overload. If they don't see what they want to see on your home page or a landing page, they bounce. So, making a statement about your corporate culture and your business' core values has to happen in the blink of an eye. Visitors will never even see the "About Us" page if you don't create a good impression - in 10 seconds. So, go green! An emblem or banner proclaiming that you employ green hosting makes an immediate statement about your on-line business. It says you care about the environment.

Do your homework when choosing a web design firm.

Good designers are creative people that need to think out of the box. Finding a good web designer is getting harder and harder. The good designers are being snatched by agencies and large projects. They are overloaded with work and often, you won't know about them because they don't have time (or need) to market themselves. Doing your homework and asking the right questions is important to decide if they are right for the job.

Problem:


How to Create a Page that Displays Random Posts





Solution:

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