October 20, 2007

Web Design: Fighting Good Battles in the Web Design War

With all of the different sites out there, competing both directly and indirectly with your own, it is often quite a challenge to get the attention of your visitors so that they'll stay long enough to be exposed to your message. It is really up to you to have a superior web design to make sure that you're attracting your target market and keeping them on your site.

This may sound like a rather daunting task, with a lot of research, time, and energy involved, but actually, a few tweaks to an already good quality site can make all the difference when it comes to grabbing someone's attention. For example, one of the most common and effective ways to snag someone's attention right off the bat is to change the font size of your headline. Make your main headline short and sweet, in a very bold, quite large font. If you have more to say in your headline than can fit in five or six words, then create a main attention-grabbing headline, and then create a sub-headline that is a bit smaller, and that fills the reader in on the rest of what you'd like to say in your content's title.

Of course, changing the font size of a title isn't exactly a revolutionary strategy. It is something that has been recognized since shortly after the printing press was invented. However, there are some things that you need to know to properly use typography to your advantage. Using the right headline size isn't just a matter of increasing your text to 48 pt. font or larger. You will need to adhere to a few simple, yet important rules if you want to get the job done.

- Say something that is important to your visitor, and have the font size match the importance of the statement. For example, if you're having a 25% off sale at your online store, you will want to make the font large, but not so incredibly large that you are turning people off. Font sizes that are too large for the message will look as though the page is shouting, rather than announcing.

- What is the font size being used for the rest of the content on the page? If you are typing everything in a 10 pt. font, then a 16 pt. font may be enough. However, if you're using a 14 pt. font for the rest of your content, and are using 16 pt. for your headline, you may not be making the statement that you want.

- Do you have a standard across your website for your font sizes? When you decide to make font size changes on your pages, then you should try to be consistent throughout your website. This decision is best done before you begin building your website so that you can simply work it into the overall design, but if you already have a site, then you'll need to make the changes across your site. Designate different font sizes depending on the importance and significance of the event or information being announced on the page, so that you will always know automatically which web design goes with what type of situation.

Of course, font size isn't the only way to get the attention of your site's visitors. You can also work with the type and style of font you're using. For example:

- font family - for example, if you're currently using sans-serif font, try a serif font to create some emphasis.

- color - hot colors tend to attract the most attention. This means reds, oranges, and yellows. The one that works best for your website will depend on your page's background color. If you have a white background, yellow may not be very visible, but red might make a great statement.

- style - bolding or italicizing your heading and subheadings will make them stand out from the rest of the text on your pages.

The best thing to always remember is not to go overboard with the different techniques that you choose to use for your website. Keep things attractive and tasteful in your efforts to catch the attention of your visitors. Don't have flashing lights or screaming colors - it will only work against you. Fight a good battle, don't go for the whole war at once.

Mark

Posted by Mark at 5:19 PM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

August 20, 2007

Web Design: What are Content Management Systems All About?

As your website becomes more valuable to you and your business, so will the time that you spend working on it. At this point, you will likely be thinking about content management systems, and whether or not they can help you get the most out of your website.

If you find a good content management system (also referred to as a CMS), you will be able to update your whole site by using tools that will allow you to make changes across your entire site, as opposed to making them page by page. This allows you to change the menu, page bottom, side bar, overall site design, and other elements of your website with a single effort, as opposed to multiple efforts for each individual page. Therefore, while you may have been spending hours to complete a task in the past, a good CMS will allow you to complete that same task in a matter of seconds or minutes.

You will also benefit from a number of additional features in a good CMS, such as style sheets. These will allow you to get a head start, instead of having to build your site up from the ground. You’ll have elements already prepared that you can alter and edit to suit your purposes.

Again, these style sheets can be applied throughout your website, allowing you to make an across-site change in one effort, instead of having to create the code for each unique page.

Don’t worry about being limited by what style sheets have to offer. They are fully adaptable, so that you can use them just to avoid filling in the basics, and then turn them into something entirely unique that you can use for your own site, to make you stand out.

When you first create your website, changing it manually may not take up too much of your time. However, as that website grows in size and importance, it will require more and more of your effort to keep it up to date. A good CMS program may be just what you’re looking for to solve the issue.

Mark.

Posted by Mark at 8:02 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

July 4, 2007

Web Design: Getting Ready Before Hiring the Web Designer

If you really want to make sure that your website is done quickly, clearly, and effectively, then you’ll need to make sure that you’ve hired the right person to do the job. This doesn’t just mean someone with the right qualifications, but it also refers to a web designer who understands what you want, and is able to provide the right contents and angle.

There are two main places to look for a web designer: online and offline. A local web design studio may work well for you if you live in a big city, and there are at least a few web designers that you can talk to and compare for your needs. However, if you don’t want to go roaming around the city looking for someone, or if you just don’t have a lot of candidates in your area, then the internet is definitely your best option.

After all, there are practically limitless possibilities out there. You can find the right people, and then let them make their offers and choose the best price for you. Furthermore, there is little that can’t be done over the phone and over internet messenger programs compared to what you can accomplish in person.

The only downer for hiring people over the internet is that you need to do a bit more investigating into their credibility, because you can’t always take what you see online at face value. You need to be careful of people who have little web design knowledge, or those who know how to do the work, but cut corners and create shoddy results.

Once you’ve chosen the right person, it’s up to you to do a bit of preemptive homework. You need to be prepared to tell the web designer exactly what you want out of your website, or s/he will only be able to guess at what is right for you.

For starters, you need to decide:

- what will your website’s primary focus be?

- what is the goal of your website?

- What is your site’s main message? What should the primary point of your content be trying to tell its viewers?

- Come up with a good description of the site’s goals, aims, and themes. Include a description of how you intend to achieve them. This should be a very clear description with different step-by-step points that make things clear to someone like the web designer who may never have heard of you or your business before.

The more prepared you are, the better prepared your web designer will be to give you exactly what you’re looking for. This will ensure better results with your website. You’ll be glad that you took a few extra moments to make the effort.

Mark

Posted by Mark at 11:24 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

June 5, 2007

Web Design: Order in the court...and in the website!

If you have a website that you visit frequently for information, the odds are that at some point or another, you’ve come across an archive site that may have terrific information, but it’s virtually inaccessible because its webmaster has allowed it to become run down. This means that the site’s links are broken, its style is out of shape, and its flow doesn’t work logically anymore. Though it may still be legible in many cases, it is entirely unattractive and frequently has nonfunctioning elements.

The same goes for pages whose content has clearly been posted without being reviewed for grammatical and spelling errors. Instead of reading a professional piece of work that gives you the feeling that its information is credible and useful, you feel as though you’re reading a draft whose information may or not be valid, and would need to be verified before taking it to heart.

Don’t let this happen to your website. Maintaining your site regularly can save you hours of “housecleaning” time that will be required if you let things go. If you let your site get run down, you’ll need to go over every element, and every word you have written. Depending on the size of your site, this can practically become a full time job in itself. By maintaining it regularly, you make certain that you never let it get to that point.

Furthermore, consider what your site visitors must be thinking when they see such shoddy maintenance and poor writing. They certainly won’t be taking you seriously. In fact, the odds are that before they even have the chance to take you seriously, they’ll already have moved on to another site. That’s the last thing that you want them to do.

Therefore, it’s very important that you keep the following three points in mind:

- You must constantly keep up with your website.
- You should periodically give your entire site a review to make sure that nothing has fallen through the cracks without your noticing in the regular maintenance.
- Since content is the most important thing that a website can have - content is king - you need to make sure that your content is as great as it can be.

Mark

Posted by Mark at 11:31 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

May 14, 2007

Website Design: The Three Best Ways to Preload Your Images

When it comes to preloading the images of your website so that you can give your visitors with slower connections a bit of a break when it comes to the wait, there are three main methods that work the best. These are:

1 – The old fashioned way: preloading the images using JavaScript. With only two basic lines in JavaScript, you can load whatever image you want into the browser’s memory. Once it has been entered into the browser’s memory, it will display just about instantly when the site is accessed again. This was the original technique for preloading images for accomplishing rollover effects. The thing is that you’ll need to add these two JavaScript lines for each and every image that you’d like to preload. The technique may be a bit on the tedious side, but it works fantastically with programs that create rollovers automatically using JavaScript. The setback is that in order for the preloading technique to work, the JavaScript has to be both supported and turned on in your visitor’s pc. Though all current browsers do support JavaScript today, there is still a 10% group of web users who have turned it off in order to reduce the risk of viruses and spyware.

2 – Use CSS. CSS can be used to hide images that are to be preloaded. Since browsers load web pages from the top to the bottom, you need only to load the rollover images at the top of the page. So that the visitors don’t see the images right away, you need only hide them with the right div. You won’t need any alt tags at all, but you will want to tweak the height and width to get better speed.

3 – Place the images in a hidden frame. It’s another oldie, like the JavaScript trick, but it’s still a goodie. All you need to do for a hidden frame is set a frame window at 0%. Naturally, this means that it’ll only work if you’re using frames – which you probably shouldn’t be. But that’s another story…

Mark

Posted by Mark at 8:53 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

March 7, 2007

Web Design: Improve the Legibility of Your Website in Five Steps

If your customer feels comfortable reading your website, he or she will be much more likely to stick around, and actually make a purchase. Furthermore, that customer will be much more likely to come back and buy from you again.

However, if your site has tiny fonts, blinding colors, or lines and images piled on top of one another, then you may as well simply tell your prospective clients to leave your site. Because that is exactly what they will do.

To make sure that your site is appealing and suitable for ease of reading, make sure to follow these steps:

1 – use CSS to format your text. CSS (also known as Cascading Style Sheets) use only one style sheet, allowing for control over the way the entire site appears. By making changes to the style sheet, the entire website is updated so that the process is substantially simpler.

2 – the font size of your website must be large enough to read. It needn’t be enormous – in fact, it shouldn’t be – however, it must be a good sized type so that it is easily legible. Sized 12-pt in a standard font will usually suffice.

3 – make certain that your text contrasts with the background, instead of blending. For example, black on white or white on black. You can use colors, but if you ever need to squint at the page, or if it seems in places that the text is barely there, some changes are needed.

4 – use lots of space in your content. Don’t stack your lines one on top of the other. Use the line spacing directive provided by CSS. Typically, you should be aiming for about 140 percent of the height of a standard line.

5 – break up your text. Nobody likes to read a giant, solid block of text. Especially on a computer screen. It’s so much easier and more appealing to read text that is broken up using headlines, small paragraphs, and bullets. Anything that changes the pace of the flow of the text will usually work very well.

Last but not least, don’t forget about good spelling and grammar. If you want to be taken seriously, and trusted as a business, you should polish your text. It not only makes for better content, but higher interest in your products as well.

Mark

Posted by Mark at 10:10 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

September 1, 2006

Web Design – What’s New On Your Website?

There is nothing that impresses a visitor to your website less than never seeing anything new within its pages. Naturally, especially in the case of small businesses, you won’t want to revamp your entire website every few weeks, but there are some other things that you can do to keep things fresh, and maintain a steady stream of repeat visitors who continue to return to find out what is the latest on your site.

If you visit your favorite large website – or even your favorite website of any size for that matter – you’ll typically find that it is always adding something to keep you wanting to come back for more. After all, if there wasn’t anything new, there wouldn’t be much reason for you to return to the site after viewing it the first time. Typically, these new sections are made up of “what’s new” or “news” pages that contain small additions every few days or so. As for us we use this blog :)

Ideally, the pages would be updated daily, but in the case of small businesses, not all have the time or ability to update every single day. As long as it’s more frequent than once per week, you’re usually set for repeat customers.

If you want to add a “what’s new” section to your website, it should generally have these characteristics:

• It continuously has new content added and updated
• It has a large number of pages due to its ever-growing nature

Your what’s new page doesn’t need to be anything too complex. In fact, many sites now use blog-style pages for their what’s new pages, so that any updates simply need to be tacked to the top of the last inclusion. This works very well, because it doesn’t make the viewer have to make many different clicks to arrive at all of the latest news. This is important, since most visitors won’t make more than one or two clicks before giving up and going elsewhere to find what they want to know.

What you include in your page is truly up to you. You can talk about the latest in your products, the most recent news in your industry, or business news in general. Make sure that you do include any changes that you make to your own business or website. That is, after all, the point to keeping your visitors up to date!

Mark.

Posted by Mark at 6:26 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

August 20, 2006

Web Design: Building a Website that Caters to the Internet Culture

When it comes to communicating online, there is a definite unique technique that surpasses them all, catering specifically to Internet Culture – the one social element that connects us all, no matter where we’re from, as long as we’re hooked up to the world wide web. This Internet Culture responds to three primary things that you can easily add to your website. These three things are:

• Information
• Free things
• Privacy

It is these three words that define what is unique about Internet culture. Businesspeople have recognized this and are now working to understand the details of this truth so that they can turn it into better sales from their websites.

Free things have always held a special attraction when it comes to making a sale, but in the online culture it becomes a practical necessity within any marketing strategy. Therefore, when you design your websites, they should clearly state where the free things are located, and why they’re so entirely beneficial to the visitors.

“Free” should play an integral role in the internet strategy of any company’s website. Naturally, your free item should compliment the goods and services that you will actually be offering for sale, otherwise, your visitor will simply take the free item and move on. You need to give them a free item and then sell them something, or they will simply pass by everything else you have to offer.

Information is also a vital part of your position on the web. It is not only desired, but expected of your website. Naturally, people like lots of features and entertainment on a website, but the true heart of what drives your website will be its information.

This means that no matter what your site has to offer, it needs to be rich in information. In fact, it’s so important that you can never offer too much information on your website. True, there is such thing as information overload, and there is a right and a wrong way to offer this information, but as long as you’ve designed the information properly into your website, then you’ll prevent customers from heading elsewhere to find out what they want to know.

Privacy is also a critical part of a successful website. With the vastness and openness of the internet, people worry about providing even the slightest bit of personal information. This is especially true when they are considering buying anything. Little is more frustrating as a customer than buying something, or subscribing to a service, and then being inundated by emails and junk mail from companies to whom this personal information has been sold or shared.

When designing a successful website, you need to clearly state your privacy policy, and stick to this policy. Make it easily accessible to your visitors so that they know that you care about what they consider to be their own intimate details.

Naturally, Internet Culture is more complex than these simple three points, but these are the foundation to a successful website that will cater to online society members.

Mark.

Posted by Mark at 7:57 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

August 3, 2006

Website Design: Different Auto-Redirecting Techniques

There is more than one auto-redirecting technique you can utilize to achieve a high ranking within search engines. If you’re not familiar with the term or the purpose of auto-redirecting, the following information will help you understand how this method may be of use to you.

What is auto-redirecting? It is a technique that automatically sends web surfers to another page as soon as they land on the page they clicked. Basically, the web browser receives a coded page that has been designed to automatically load a different page once the site visitor accesses it. The different page is usually on the same website, but it can also be on another site.

What is the purpose of auto-redirecting? Auto-redirecting is used when a site has been designed only for the purpose of generating high rankings in search engines. When a web surfer lands at a page on the website listed from the search engine results, the surfer is automatically redirected to the main website.

You should know that for the most part, search engines are against the use of auto-redirecting. That being said, they don’t generally have a problem with auto-redirection if it is done for a valid reason. For instance, if you post a message in a forum, you will usually receive a confirmation page that waits a few seconds before auto-directing you to the forum messages.

Nevertheless, fortunately for most auto-directing users, whether they approve them or not, search engines are not always able to detect the different auto-redirecting techniques available.

The following are a few auto-directing methods you can use to appear search engine friendly:

Meta Refresh Tag – This method is highly detectable by search engines, but is fine as long as there is a practical delay period that takes place between the time a visitor lands on a page, and the time they are redirected from it.
When setting up this method, you will discover that the “content” parameter has two sections separated with a semi-colon. The first section is the time delay (in seconds) prior to redirection. The second section is the redirected URL which can be a relative or absolute URL.
Since, search engines are designed to read HTML, and meta tags are HTML, you can receive a penalty from redirecting a web surfer away from it too quickly, which is why you need to make sure the time delay is a considerable amount of time. Five seconds is the ideal, recommended time, as it is considered enough time for the visitor to read a small portion of the contents.
If you are using auto-directing for SEO purposes, auto-redirection delay, which is necessary for this method, is not particularly desirable. You should consider another method.
Javascript Redirect – Search engines can not automatically detect this auto-redirection technique, as they haven’t quite yet figured out javascript. Script can be put anywhere on the page, but the section is usually the best place so that javascript will run as soon as the page starts loading.

This use of the Javascript’s “replace” function is what causes the redirected page to replace the original page found in the History list of the web browser’s “Back button”. Thus, if a surfer clicks the “Back button” to return to the original page that was clicked, they will go back to the page before the auto-redirect one. Hence they won’t see the contents of the auto-redirect page, and won’t be taken back to it only to end up on the redirected page again.

Form technique – Did you know that search engine spiders do not attempt to submit forms because they can’t fill in form fields? This means that forms can be utilized for auto-redirecting purposes.

A form’s “action” parameter is simply a URL that is requested from the server by the browser. The browser gives it special treatment by adding a few name-value pairs to the URL that has been requested. However, if no pairs exist, the browser will continue to make the request for the URL. Then, as soon as the page starts loading, javascript can be utilized to submit the form.

Finally, if you decide to use auto-redirecting, choose the most suitable method. Essentially, if you don’t want visitors to view the content on the page that they will be redirected from, the Javascript method is your best option.

Mark.

Posted by Mark at 7:25 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

July 30, 2006

Web Design – The Difference a Title Makes

One of the most obvious thing that almost every website has in common is a title. However, all titles were not created equal. A title can define your site, create an instant impression and opinion about it, and greatly influence the way that people see the rest of the content.

Titles are vital to the way that the internet – and the rest of our daily lives – function. They provide a surprising amount of information in a very compact amount of space. They allow us to reference and index the information to follow, and let us know what to expect.

This same way of “thinking” works with search engines as well. When you create a title, you need to think about the people who will be viewing your site, but you also need to remember that search engines, both human indexed, and spider indexed, will be looking over the content of your website, and that title will make all the difference to your search engine efforts.

A search engine spider has been programmed to look for certain things within a title. It needs to provide everything that the search engine spider needs to know about the site for quick referencing, search engine ranking, and keyword association.

In fact, many web designers consider the titles to be absolutely critical to their final creation. This doesn’t just mean “Welcome” or a company name. It must be an functioning title with purpose and deliberate choice of words.

Though indeed, using the company name within the title or on all pages will work well within an internet branding strategy, it will not work in your favor when it comes to search engine optimizing for prospective customers who still aren’t familiar with your company name but are looking specifically for the product or service that you provide.

Therefore, if you do choose to work your company name into the title, it should be placed among the rest of the main message, and should not be the main part – or the sole part – of that heading.

Every single page on your website requires its own unique title. Though there may be a single topic that spans over several pages, you will still need to use a title at the top of every page, if only as an index of information for the reader.

Similarly, if your site sells multiple products, then each product will need its own page with its own title. You need to make sure that you know how to make each page stand out. After all, if you can’t do it, how do you expect a search engine spider to find out what is special about the page while it does its indexing and ranking?

Whenever possible, keywords should be included in your title, as this will play in your favor when the search engine spider or indexer goes over your site to see how it should be ranked. Keep in mind that search engines go over each page individually, giving each one a different rank. This is one of the reasons that you need to give each page a title, preferably with its own keywords.

Once you do discover the ideal keywords for each page, the ideal length of the title is usually from 4 to 6 words long, whenever you can manage it. Once you pass 58 characters, the title will be truncated on the search engine results page, so that the prospective customer performing the search won’t be able to see it without clicking on it. Furthermore, the longer a title is, the less weight each word will be given.

Of course, while search engines are all important, you must think of the reader first. Is your title informative and appealing? If not, it needs a change. Your title will make the first impression for every page. You need it to be a good one.

Mark.

Posted by Mark at 11:48 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

July 23, 2006

Web Design: Three Great Ways to Preload Images

If you want to preload images to your website, there are actually a few options available. The following is a brief list of what you can try:

• The Ol’ Tried and True Method – Preload using JavaScript. In two lines, you’re able to preload images into the memory of the browsers. Once the image is in the memory of the browser, it will provide an almost immediate display. This is the old traditional way to preload images for a rollover effect.

There will be two lines of JavaScript required for every image that you want to preload into the browser, naming the image that you’ll want preloaded.

This method generally works very well when using programs such as Fireworks, which is used for automatically forming and creating rollovers. The problem is that if the browser does not have JavaScript, or it is not turned on, it will not work. Though all browsers out right now will support JavaScript, there is still a surprising 10 percent of the people who use the net who have turned off their JavaScript enabling for increased security and virus protection.

• CSS – CSS can be used to hide images that you wish to preload. Since browsers load pages from the top down, anything at the top of the page must appear before the bottom of the page will be displayed. Therefore, to have a fast loading, you simply need to your rollover images to occur at the top of the page. Then simply hide the images by using a hidden div. This technique loads the image into the memory of the browsers.

• Place images in a hidden frame – what is a hidden frame? Simply a window that is set at 0 percent. As frames are undesirable, this option isn’t really viable anymore. However, the same can be done with CSS and iframe, if you for some reason don’t want to use a hidden div.

Mark.

Posted by Mark at 7:50 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

July 20, 2006

Website Design: Direct Steps to Building Ad Revenue Using Your Website

Earning an income from the web can be very hard work, even when it is using “easier” methods such as advertising through your website. To make life a bit easier, here are some great steps to make retirement just that much closer.

• Give your site fantastic content. The better your content, the more reason you’ll give your visitors to come, and come again. Remember that it’s much easier to keep a regular visitor than to get a new one. Great content can be achieved through information – such as articles, links, reviews, and images – through free software downloads, through entertainment – such as music, online games, videos, and other fun things – and useful online services – such as submitters, calculators, monitors, and other beneficial services.

• Prepare your site for proper ad display. Banner ads are images that have links to their corresponding sites. It is through these ads that your visitors will follow the links and then make their purchases – bringing in earnings for you. Therefore, you need to make sure that your banner ads are properly placed in order to achieve their maximum potential. They shouldn’t be the centerpiece of your website design, but should be a compliment, so that after using the content of any given page, the next step is to use the banner link.

• Know your target market. Find out who is visiting your site and who is visiting the affiliate’s site. Make sure that they match, or you won’t get very good results from your efforts. Discovering who your target market is involves survey distribution, collection, and analysis, as well as watching the statistics from your website use. Once you know who your target market is, make sure that your site is geared specifically to them, and market it appropriately.

By taking these steps, you’ll make sure that you’re maximizing the potential revenue of your site.

Mark.

Posted by Mark at 6:24 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

July 10, 2006

Web Design: Making sure things work!

Over the past few days I have been setting up several new hosts for my adsense empire (10 to be precise) I wanted them to be on different C class IP ranges hence the difference. Anyway 3 of those in my list their order forms did not work correctly telling me my credit card was not correct etc. So how long do you think I hung around trying to place my order? Or do you think I binned the process and moved to the next host in my list!

Yep as soon as I got a problem I binned the process and went to the next host in my list to order there! This got me thinking, Mark your very impatient and I guess so are your customers too!!!!

Make sure your order processes work guys because you don't get a second chance at a lost customer, in fact you never see them again and that's a fact :)

Mark.

Posted by Mark at 11:10 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

July 9, 2006

Web Design – Yes, Flash is Still a Viable Option

SEO experts and web designers have been bothered by Flash websites since their conception due to the fact that it creates several problems in the standard efforts to search engine optimize a website.

However, as of April of this year, that is no longer true. It is now becoming possible to use more traditional SEO techniques with a Flash website. The only struggle is to overcome the most recent problem with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser, which contains a code that will commonly prevent Flash web pages from functioning properly.

This came at a bad time for the reputation of Flash, since it was finally coming back “in” with the SEO crowd, and now it is struggling once more with the Internet Explorer users.

However, it turns out that it isn’t the fault of Flash itself that so many websites aren’t functioning on the latest Internet Explorer version. It seems that with so many WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) website design softwares out there, there are invariably Flash sites that simply won’t be programmed appropriately.

When properly programmed, Flash is great for:

• Creating a clean and professional design
• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Accessibility, no matter the computer type and software
• Code validation

Flash is best used in places where complex content needs to be presented, as it allows the designer to fit more into a limited amount of space without sacrificing the design of the site itself.

It is important to know, though, that even the biggest Flash advocates agree that an entire website can’t be built entirely on Flash. This is because it lacks page structure. Therefore, it is recommended that you first design an HTML site, and then break your Flash into pieces that can be installed into each page. This provides the same professional look, without the programming issues.

Mark.

Posted by Mark at 10:52 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

June 7, 2006

Web Design: Has Copying Content Finally Lost it’s Value?

The internet’s most valuable asset is its content. It is the equivalent to virtual money. It is what is traded globally and utilized from the largest corporation, to the smallest single-page personal site. Traditionally – if the internet has been around long enough to be considered to have tradition ha ha– using other people’s content was a normal part of web design. This doesn’t mean that sites are simply copies of one another, but there is a great deal of content that is considered to be “public domain”, that is, not copyrighted, and free to use for everyone.

But is this shared and copied content still of value to today’s web designers? Many experts are beginning to think that copied content not only doesn’t have value anymore, but it will also penalize you for posting duplicate content because search engines will consider it “spam” or simply not original.

However, others would disagree, since e-zine sites, news sites, and press release posting sites all take their content from writers who commonly submit their articles to many different article directories. And these sites are among the most popular and high ranking on the internet.

The difference that these sites make is the way in which they present it. Since they each have their own requirements for description paragraphs and other details, the articles appear slightly different to search engines.

Therefore, it can be said that duplicate content does still have its value in web design, as long as you present it in your own way, and don’t just do a copy-and-paste job! Like many people do I might add :)

Remember, though, copied content is only legal when it is taken within the rules of the original site. Therefore, if the content has been copyrighted, or requires permission to use it, then this must be done before simply taking it.

Mark.

Posted by Mark at 6:34 PM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

June 4, 2006

Web Design: Using Mozilla Composer to Ensure Mozilla Compatibility for Your Site

The introduction of Mozilla to the web browsing world has caused quite a stir. Sure, it allows users to surf the web as they please without the pain and bother of pop-ups or as much spyware, but for web designers, it just means one more struggle for compatibility when creating a new site. Oh how we know this so well :(

Though all of the basics can be viewed using Mozilla, web design isn’t fully compatible between that program and other browsers such as Internet Explorer and Netscape. Therefore, when you’re designing a website, if you believe that your primary target, or at least a good chunk of your market, will be using Mozilla to access the site, you may wish to use a Mozilla-compatible web design product such as Mozilla Composer (a free product available for download off the web).

By using a what-you-see-is-what-you-get program such as this, you can quickly and easily whip together a quality website that can be viewed perfectly by any user of a Mozilla browser.

As you create your site, just make sure to test it all the way along to be certain that it is working as you desire. You can also check it against other web browsers, so that you can design a site that isn’t just compatible with Mozilla, but with others as well. There is no reason for you to limit your compatibility just because you’re designing with a specific browser in mind.

As you can see, it is neither impossible, nor expensive to work with Mozilla in mind. You simply need to use the right program, and check your work frequently (a practice you should already have). Furthermore, Mozilla is becoming increasingly compatible with advanced functions, while still blocking pop-ups and spyware, so you will also be able to create sites with great features to go with their appealing look and strong content.

Mark.

Posted by Mark at 8:27 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

May 30, 2006

Web Design: Adding a Favorites Icon (aka Favicon)

Have you ever been scanning over your favorites (bookmark) list in your web browser and noticed little icons next to some of the sites that you’ve saved? can ytou see our little 15 at the top of this page? These icons are called favorites icons or favicons. They’re added by web designers to make their sites a bit more noticeable and to simply give their site a bit of added flair. If you want to add your own favicon so that your site it is entirely possible, and not difficult at all.

To begin, use a graphics program, and create the image you desire at the size 16 x 16 pixels. Indeed, this is very small – probably much smaller than you’re used to – but it is the correct size for favicons. It may take you a few different tries to come up with a version that you feel will work well with your web design.

Save the image as either a BMP or a GIF using 256 or fewer colors. Just like web images, icon files need to be able to display on all types of computer monitors, so you can’t use millions of colors and expect high reliability with the viewers of your web design. However, since icon files are used for display on Windows only, you can successfully use 256 colors instead of the web design standard of only 216.

Once you’ve designed your image, you need to convert it into an icon. To do this, you will need to use an icon editing software. There are many out there, often for free, so have a look at different shareware and free software sites before forking out the cash.

To publish the icon, all you need to do is upload it to the directory file that you want it to represent when bookmarked. You can do this just for a specific page, or for every page of your website. To do this, you just need to add a link reference to the beginning of each of your HTML documents. Our favicon is in the root of our site.

That's it! Simple huh?

Mark.

Posted by Mark at 7:49 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

April 28, 2006

Web Design: For Speed, It’s All About Tables

For a web user, there is nothing more frustrating than waiting for a site to load. In fact, more often than not, today’s internet users simply won’t stand for it. Yep as i have said many times before youve got about 8 seconds! Before waiting for a site to load, they will much more frequently go elsewhere to find the same information or products at a speed that suits them. Patience is not a virtue common among site visitors.

That being said, it is now up to you to figure out how to speed up your own site’s download so that you won’t lose your prospective customers to impatience. Your solution, therefore, is tables. It’s just that simple. Placing all of your content into one table that is broken into a few different cells means that your visitors will have virtually blank screens for the majority of the downloading of the site, and then everything will appear all at once – one of the best ways to invite visitors to go elsewhere. Instead, simply break up your content into separate tables, each with their own text and graphic elements.

This division can be made in a number of ways. Choose the one that best fits your web design. This often means creating two tables, one at the top, and one below. The top table should include all of the header information and the logo for the website, and the bottom table can include the content itself. This way, the logo and site options become available immediately to your visitors as they wait for the site content to appear.

As long as your web design is always giving your visitors options and something to look at while the rest of the content loads, you can usually consider yourself in the clear as far as downloading speed. So look at the download time of your own website, and whenever you run into a place where things are a bit on the slow side, it’s time to use those tables!

Mark.

Posted by Mark at 6:59 AM | Comments (1) | Web Design | TrackBack

April 16, 2006

Web Design: Small Business Web Designing

When a small business sits down and designs their website, they have an edge over their larger competitors. The small business can make the most of their market share. The Internet provides a very fluid environment for staking out a retail claim. The Internet also offers multiple layers to the customer base that offline or local retailing cannot. The web design of a small business website can use that to its advantage.

Marketing techniques enhance user-friendly websites by utilizing the small business appeal. Home pages will reflect a more hometown look and feel. The simplified interfaces can do more for increasing business than all the Flash powered shiny graphics and fade outs combined. The small business web design inspires trust, through old-fashioned marketing appeal and trust is whats sells! The look of brick, even on a website, conjures images of a small storefront. By employing marketing in the web design, the end user is treated to the idea that they are visiting a niche market – a unique place – and it will encourage them to come back and repeat that unique experience.

Mark.

Posted by Mark at 11:05 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

April 13, 2006

Web Design: Common Web Site Building Mistakes

In the age of high speed Internet, everyone has a website. The most common mistake found in web design is that the designers give the page a subject, but not a focus or a purpose. When your website has a purpose, the design will reflect that in the use of images, supporting software and links. When it just covers a subject, the generalization can make the design clunky and overwhelming.

Purpose limits the content. It does not require a dumping of every single factoid related to the subject. Web design avoids the crutch of too much information distracting visitors from the purpose of the site. A business wants their user to return, not to leave in frustration because overwhelming data keeps them from finding what they need.

Without purpose, a web design cannot advertise well. It may confuse potential clients. The last thing your web design should do is leave clients confused or turn away a potential paying customer. A focused design will detail the business purpose, the services and clearly demonstrate the work either through samples or service descriptions. Web design is about the presentation of the purpose, not the subject.

Mark.

Posted by Mark at 8:11 AM | Comments (1) | Web Design | TrackBack

January 24, 2006

Web design: Worrying us Today

You know the first thing I do when I switch my office PC on is to download my emails and web forms data from my sites. This morning I had to chuckle (I dont get offended easily) Over this one asking for web design. I have blanked out the swear words just in case your sensitive type.

first_name = Fred
last_name = Smith
company = Fred Smith rubbers
country = United Kingdom (Great Britain) email = fred@fredsmithrubbers.com
phone1 =
tracking_tag = MainContactForm
custom_inquirytype = General Inquiry
custom_howdidyoufindus = Other Website
custom_Myurl = http://
custom_enquirydescription = Hi Guys I was wondering if you have designed any adult shops before, I would like one with a picture of a man getting it right up his ****. If you are interested in this sort of work then go f**** yourself! Mother f***** go suck some c***** you c**** Thats it, that'll do donkey, that'll do!

Hmmmmmmm I guess it takes all sorts ehhh

Mark..

Posted by Mark at 8:52 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

September 4, 2005

Web Design: Web design, Internet marketing and SEO

These three and inextricably linked in my mind. This is of course if you want to make money from your web page, or at least be found and read by someone!

It amazes me the amount of buisness owners that think web design is the start and finish of the whole process. If we build it they will come err NOT! Or at least they think that a web design agency will handle all the marketing aspects within the design process. This is blatently NOT the case.

Most web design agencys have not the first clue about marketing and SEO because mostly they are designers and not marketers. Web design is only the start of the journey and indeed if you stop there you will get little to no traffic and little to no sales.

Mark.

Posted by Mark at 9:39 AM | Comments (2) | Web Design | TrackBack

June 14, 2005

Web Design: Finished!

Well the new site is up and finished :) and now the work starts with the SEO I have commenced. Most all the "onpage" SEO is complete now although this is refined almost daily to be honest. We are also working on the internal linking very much.

As you know we already have a Google PR of 4 on just about all pages and this was with no on page stuff and very few backlinks to the site! So anyway I expect a PR6 from Google in a couple months at least! I have a staff member (Adam) who is doing nothing else but finding good backlinks for me every day! So it wont be long before we have around a thousand I guess.

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Thats how you should feel about SEO ha ha

Mark.

Posted by Mark at 1:12 PM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

April 22, 2005

Web design: A new 15dn Evolves

Hi All

I have been keeping this under wraps but as it's nearly finished I thought id give you a sneak preview :)

As you can see I have retained the main site style (as I still like it) but have gone for a much more flexible design and menu system. This enables me to add in extra services as needed. Oh yes the banner is changing so dont tell me its to small ok :)

Mark...

PS
Hope you like.

Posted by Mark at 8:35 AM | Comments (4) | Web Design | TrackBack

February 3, 2005

Web Design: The winner of?

Well the time has come for me to annouce the new year competition results. First place goes to...

Chris :)

Well done, very comprehensive comments some of which we are using in our redesign so kudos to you. I will be contacting you this month for your requirements.

Second place goes to

Kevin

Thanks all for participating. Its nice to get site feedback that is unbiased.

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 9:24 AM | Comments (1) | Web Design | TrackBack

January 26, 2005

Web Design: A Certain Otherness!

I have a friend who is an Artist. We were out and about one day when he happened to say that the sculpture we were looking at had "A Certain Otherness" "Say what"? I said. But now I know what he means. It is the indescribable. It's the reason we Love Apple.com. It's function and Form. It pleases you but your not quite sure why.

You know when Janet (my head designer) and I came up with the creative for the new 15dn html site I loved it. My brief was that I wanted it to be Directional, warm, different and easy to navigate. Slightly off centre, a bit like me and to have otherness (Oh how she laughed). Yet design just like my life is an ever evolving and changing animal. Hell when I was a kid I hated pickled walnuts and now I love them ROFL!!

I am also patently aware that you can't please all the folks all the time and as such for the most part this design is for me, and then I hope most people will like it.

So I have moved from loving 15dn, to pulling it to pieces and starting the whole creative over again! As such and also in light of my New Years Competition (Great comments) We are already in the process of a major re-design here at 15dn. So watch this space because it will be changing some time soon :)

Mark...

PS
I will be announcing the winners of the competition in the first week of Feb and also emailing them.

Posted by Mark at 9:07 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

January 25, 2005

Web design: Six days

There are just six days to go in our new years re-design competition.

If you want to enter you can do it Here

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 12:37 PM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

December 5, 2004

Function and Form

I love this little quote about design. Thanks .net

Design is about creativity and compromise. Creativity without compromise is called Art!

This is something we here at 15dn are always trying to get right "creativity and compromise"

Function and form I love it :)

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 11:19 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

December 2, 2004

Affiliate Program

Well our new affiliate program is nearing completion as I write this!!

It never ceases to amaze me how much work goes into these little projects :( Let me see...

New software
New web development
More testing
New skins.

Endless!

Still nearly done now (ish)...

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 10:47 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack