Need A Great Web Site For Your Business?
You want a web site that is going to make your business SHINE! You want people to see your site and be queuing up to do business with you. No problem. We just need to get a few ducks in a row, the first basics of web design. So page through this little book, 20 Top Tips to building the perfect websiteand learn a few tips, tricks and techniques Once you've got that you can let your imagination run wild... and get your perfect web site |
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Oi!!! Pay Attention!!How many web sites do you visit that start with a corporate spiel that you don't fully understand? Dry mission statements and dull company ethics... With just 3 seconds or less the key is to be arresting, not clever or corporate.
You can do this in many ways but there is one, absolutely essential step, one that thousands and thousands of web sites miss out on and it should be blindingly obvious. |
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Be REALLY REALLY OBVIOUSTell people they have found
what If you sell basement conversions make it 100% clear, right there, in a large and clear heading where anyone landing on the page can see it: 'We do awesome Basement Conversions!!' Don't assume people know what you are talking about - make your headings something laymen can understand too. Don't assume that people landing on your site will know why they are there, sometimes they get there by mistake, it's worth encouraging them to stay.
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The Golden Bull AwardHow often have you landed on a web site and felt pleased as it seems to be what you're looking for. Then you've started reading and you're like...Er??
Umm - sorry? Could you say that in English please? Plain English. Like the English I speak. Not the English you speak to your shareholders when you don't really want them to understand what's happening in your company but you want to impress them with how businesslike and clever you are. Don't over use jargon, don't use acronyms, don't 'marketeer', don't use lawyer speak - unless of course your web site is for lawyers. Which brings me to another point |
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Who Are You Speaking To?Personas - Who's looking at your site? Your web site must appeal to your target audience, not you, your partner or your web designer. Make sure you know who's looking at your site. The technology, the feel, the navigation, the connection speeds must all be considered. Even the colours you choose. For example if your market is Arabic, purple is not a good colour choice as it's associated with prostitution. Do your research! If you sell gap year travel is it the student who is buying it, or their parents? Know your market and pitch to sell to them. But be true to your self too. You can't please everyone no matter how hard you try!
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The F PatternUsers don’t read, they scan. The red areas in the F Pattern are the areas people scan first. In a fraction of a seccond they'll scan to see if what they want features. If they don't see it, they click to the next site.
Design your content around the hot spots
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NavigationCan people find their way around your site? People browse a web page using instinct more than intellect. They're busy, they don't spend time looking for the optimum link, they look for the most obvious and click that, hoping for the best. Your web site needs to be designed so that navigation is so simple that users don't have to think. So that optimum is the most obvious. Don't try and think out the box. Be consistent, if the navigation is at the top of the page on the home page then it must be the same throughout the site. Always have a link called home and a very obvious contact link. |
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What Will People Think?Does your web site give an insight to your company that makes you proud?
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Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)Your web site can be perfect in every way but unless you've got people looking at it, it's worth nothing at all. People have to find it. Roughly 80% of new sites are found through search engines The Classes of Search Engine Placement
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Part Two |
Getting SEO RightGood web design also includes an enormous amount of below the surface activity. Things your readers have no idea exists but are vital to appearing in Search Engines. Without this behind the scenes bit it's like building a shopping centre but with no roads leading to it and no parking space. Search engines are the cheapest and most effective way of getting your site found so first you need to submit your site to search engines and directories to tell them your site exists.
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Inbound LinksBut it doesn't stop there. The more web sites that link to yours, the better. This has been one of Google's main strategies. As a way of checking to see if your web site is useful and really offers the amazing info that you say it does they do a very quick scan to see which other web sites think so - which is demonstrated by how many link back to your site. As a rule most web masters will only link to you (called inbound links) if they admire what your web site offers. So, a really vital step in getting found is to have loads of valid inbound links.
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Then there's the MetadataMetadata is a type of code that runs through your site behind the scenes and some say it's really important. Metadata includes descriptions, keywords, page titles, Hi, H2 headings, alt tags for your images and so on. It really is worthwhile getting all this in place even thought there is some argument as to how relevant it all is. Search Engines are always changing their algorithms and it's just as well to be have all your bases covered. |
KeywordsKeywords are essentially the search terms people would use to find your site. For example, you sell Green Gizmos. If Joe Bloggs types in Green Gizmo, you would like your site to appear right there at the very top of the first page. The search engine races through web sites to find how many times the word green gizmo features in your site. If it features too much or too little it ignores your site. If it features just right it's at this point it checks how many inbound links you have and your metadata. If you score highly in both these criteria too - your page will rate well. Which means your customers are much more likely to find you. |
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Social Networking
Social networking is the use of sites like facebook, de.li.cious, Twitter and so on to market your site and use to network. How useful this is may vary according to the type of product your web site promotes. If it's a niche market product that is inordinately dull, ie wholesale washing machine belts social networking may not be all that helpful. Unless, of course, you want to raise brand awareness by marketing your company under the umbrella of the most boring product ever!
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Scalability of designWhen you design a site it is important to remember that you may want to add or remove products or pages in the future. A web site that will allow you to make changes and add and remove sections without damaging the interface is a huge bonus. If your web site was based on your sales of green gizmos but you decided to start selling red widgets too, having to have a new web site designed to allow for this isn't ideal.
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BlogsA regular blog linked to the site also helps improve ranking. Use your blog to keep the site updated and fresh while you're on the move. Invite comments... There avenues your site has to generate traffic, the more likely you are to succeed. Nearly doneSkilled coding (eg using CSS rather than tables) is also taking into account as is smart navigation that uses relevant keywords. For example if you sell Green Gizmos these are a link in your menu. How long your domain name is registered for is also a consideration. If you have a .com it is wise to register it for a minimum of 5 years. You should also have a 301 redirect from your-website.com to www.your-website.com |
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Remember your English teacherPleeezee chek and dubble cheque you spelling! Remember you're grammer to. Dont spk txt spk. Sum ppl dont understand. And don't use abs. or noob style slang. Dont rely on spell cheque either because it may well be spelt write but it mite mean something completely different! |
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Keeping freshKeeping fresh Getting in touch Include your opening hours. If you sell to Australians they'll be getting up today just as you're going to bed yesterday.
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If you'd like a web siteIf you'd like a quote on a web site please get in touch. You contact me, Jen, on info@broadlyspeaking.co.uk (clickable link below) Or call me on 01253 722305 A portfolio of some of my sites Abil-csi.com |
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