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Use of colour & how appropriate it is for business

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:33:48 +0000

Did you know that colour influences mood and is therefore important when designing your website.

Colour can:

Increase brand recognition

Boost confidence

Invoke a sense of wellbeing

Create an overall impression

Colour is a very important feature of your web site as one of the first things people notice about your website's design is the color so you need to ensure that your colours stand out.

The trick with colour is to find out which colours compliment each other and make your pages look enticing. If your site is boring, too bland or too bright, people will automatically want to navigate away and to another site which is more visually attractive.

It is also important to note that web browsers only see a maximum of 256 colours. Even that number is hindered because not all browsers share the same 256-color pallet.
If you use colours that don’t exist within a specific browser, the browser has to mix the colours which don’t exist. In order for the browser to display the colour, it needs to extract tiny dots from the colours native to that browser to be able to come up with an approximate colour. This is known as dithering. Some displays will distort the tiny dots to the point where the image is so speckled that it does not appear to be a solid colour. This makes text very hard to read if it is placed over the dithered colour. You should always use a browser safe colour when using solid color as a design element.

You may have noticed that caution signs are usually yellow. Pure yellow strains the eye more than any other colour and it is for that reason that it is the first colour your eye will fix on. The use of yellow (and red) for banners and advertisements will attract more attention from the visitor but be very careful not to over-use bright colours. For example the use of yellow, black and red as backgrounds could easily drive visitors away. Not only do they look gaudy when used inappropriately but they also cause eye fatigue. (You naturally want to keep your visitors on your site for as long as possible).

Overall, a dark text on a light background is best - if you choose a simple palette of a few matching colours, this is better still.

Complementary colours (that is, those found directly across from each other on the colour wheel - e.g. red and green) are safe choices, as are neighboring shades. The contrast of complementary colours like orange and blue suggest excitement (which could be used for sites featuring rock bands for example), whilst neighboring colours like green and blue suggest harmony (so if your site is about yoga, these would be more suitable for you).

The monolithic approach is the superior choice for professional website color schemes. This means using different shades of the same colour. Monoliths work best for business sites because they are more subtle and suggestive. However, you need to be a bit careful about “professional” colours as they can look boring and you may need to add a contrasting colour in order to make your site look more interesting.

To summarise:

Red - hard on the eyes but effective in highlighting key text on black and white sites

Burgundy & Blue - Suggest a calm, quality, successful and serious business

Purple - Suggests uncertainty and ambiguity – best avoided

Oyster & Shades of Beige – Create a reliable and solid presence

Greys and Browns – Suggest a confident, stable and strong business

And finally:

Yellow – Great for highlighting key words and phrases but best kept to a minimum because of eye strain.

Overall, neutral tones work best with sites specifically designed for an older market. You will also want to
use shades which are already a feature of your business. For example, you need to think about your logo and whether or not you are updating it or using the existing one - your website colours will need to tie in.

Assuming you are selling something on your site, you should use colours which capture your target audience – for example if yours is a site selling theatrical clothing you will sell more if you use bright reds, greens or black, rather than the more muted "corporate" colours such as beige and grey tones.

In a nutshell, try to use colours which compliment your subject matter and which are visually attractive.

The classic, rich, conservative, colours such as blues, browns, burgundies and greys are best for creating serious business websites.

If you're not good at colour co-ordinating, it's a good idea to consult a color wheel which can be found at Kuler or, budget permitting, you could consult a Colour Consultant such as Colour Works Consulting

How do visitors read websites?

admin — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 09:22:01 +0000

Presumably you have a website because your aim is to convert visitors into customers (or subscribers). It’s therefore important for you to understand how your visitors scan and read your pages so that you can position the most important elements of your web pages in the most effective place.

On the whole people tend to ‘scan’ web pages rather than actually read them, picking out individual words and sentences. Research tell us that visitors read horizontally, usually across the upper part of the content area. They then move down the page a bit and read across also horizontally, and typically, for less time than previously. Finally, they typically scan the left hand side vertically.

Homepage layout
The visitor’s eye usually fixes first on the top left hand side of the page, before it starts to scan from left to right. Only after hovering over the top portion of the page does he or she tend to explore further down the page.

Headlines
Upon entering a new page, dominant headlines most often draw the eye first, especially when placed towards the top left, (and sometimes towards the top right). Photographs, contrary to common belief, aren't typically the entry point to a homepage. Compelling text is a more powerful way of keeping your visitor’s interest. People view both the headline and content underneath it when the headline is bold and a similar size to the content text. When viewing a headline which is larger than the content which stands out on it’s own line, people tend to view the headline and skip the content.

Also, underlined headlines tend to discourage people from reading content on a homepage which is exactly the opposite of what you want them to do.
When visitors read content under headlines on homepages, they often only look at the left one-third. In other words, most people just look at the first couple of words, and only continue reading if they are compelled by what they’re reading.

Typically a headline has less than a second of a site visitor's attention. This backs up the fact that your first couple of words need to really grab the attention of your website visitors. This is also true for content – make sure that your first few words are descriptive and really grab the viewer's attention.

Typeface
If you want your visitors to read (rather than scan) your site, try using a smaller typeface as this encourages people to be more focused on what they are reading. Larger headlines encourage scanning (as opposed to reading) more than smaller ones but of course you still need to ensure the font is large enough for your visitors to read!

To scroll or not to scroll
As you would expect, the areas you have to scroll down to view are not viewed that often. However, that doesn't mean you can't get people to look at content which is positioned low down on a scrolling page.

Their eyes typically scan lower portions of the page seeking something to grab their attention. Their eyes may become fixed on an interesting headline or a word which really stands out, but not on other content. Again, this points to the necessity of sharp headline writing.

Where to locate your Navigation
Navigation placed at the top of a homepage performs well and is seen by the highest percentage of people and looked at for the longest duration. More people view right-column navigation for longer than left-column navigation.

Article layout & style
Short paragraphs receive more attention than those with longer paragraphs as the longer paragraph format seems to discourage viewing. Surprisingly people tend to look at text elements before accompanying photos and the use of summary descriptions which lead into articles are popular with website visitors.

Images
Larger online images tend to hold the eye longer than smaller ones and clean, clear facial images attract more attention on homepages.

So, here are a few reminders you can use when thinking about your website design:

Place your most important message to the top left of your home page
Don’t underline or bold your headlines
Use a small typeface for your content
keep your paragraphs short
Use large images on your site

11 Tips what to do after your site goes live

admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:34:03 +0000

You have worked hard with your web designer and your site has gone live. You now need to ensure your wonderful new website is found!

Here are a eleven top tips to get your site working for you:

1. Local Business Links

Look for other websites which will provide links to your site. As well as looking nationally, it helps to request links from local businesses which are complementary to yours in the areas where your business operates. For example if you offer transcription services, you could approach a website selling transcription equipment.

2. Free Listings

You can create a free listing for your local business on Google Maps and Yahoo Local . Your business will then show up on a map when people search locally in your area.

3. You Tube

If you have a video, you can promote this, images and audio content via You Tube. Google's "universal search" displays not only web page content, but also relevant listings for images, videos, local businesses and audio clips. For example, if you were to create an informative video explaining what your business offers and upload it to YouTube www.youtube.com you could see a lot of additional traffic coming your way.

4. Incoming Links

As Google (and other major search engines) rate the number of quality incoming links to your website as an important indicator of relevance, additional links will help you rank higher in the search engines. It is important however to ensure you include only links from those sites which are both popular and can be trusted.

5. Online Directories

Submit your site to online directories. A directory is a website listing which is sorted according to specific category and subcategory. You can list your site in the free Open Directory Project www.dmoz.com and in the Yahoo Directory

6. Industry Specific Directories

If you belong to various trade associations which have member directories, ask them for a link too. You may have to pay for this option but the more links you have, the higher your page rank will be!

7. Complementary Links

It’s a good idea to send a personal e-mail to the contact listed on the site where you would like your link featured. However, do remember to link from complementary sites as Google determines what your site is about, who you link to and who links to you. Not just any link will do, it’s quality links you’re after. Persistence will pay off in the end so don’t be tempted to give up!

8. Articles

Write articles for others to use in their newsletters. You can increase your online visibility if you write articles about subjects within your area of expertise and send them to editors as free content for their e-mail newsletters or websites. Don't forget to ask them to provide a link to your website and a short description of what you are selling or the services you offer. There is an abundance of information on how to do this available from one of the many article marketing sites.

9. Press Releases

To broadcast newsworthy events, you can send press releases to various journalists who work within your specific industry. The links to your site contained within online news articles should improve the amount of traffic to your website.

10. Start Writing a Blog

If you offer regular informative content and comments on other forums and blogs, people are likely to link to your website via your blog, thereby increasing your website's page rank.

11. Social Media Marketing

By setting up Twitter, Facebook and Linked-In accounts (to name just three) and regularly posting credible content via your online profiles, you can develop and build a following of people who are interested in the tips and expertise you can offer in your specific field. By attracting interest in this way you are encouraging people to visit your website where they can gain more valuable information.

Your Portfolio Speaks Volumes

admin — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:32:06 +0000

The Importance of Portfolios

It is important, for small businesses in particular, to portray their portfolios to impress their website visitors and prospective clients. Portfolios are especially important for contractors, web designers and artists, and are an ideal tool for them to display the quality of their work. A portfolio should include examples of your best work, the work you are proud of, and the work that best demonstrates your skills.

What to Include
A great portfolio can transform website visitors into clients but you need to ensure that you only showcase your best work.

Before you start
Think about how you can answer your visitors’ questions.
Your online portfolio could be a blog or a website but either way, what you need to remember is that it should always answer the questions your potential clients are likely to have.
Your online portfolio is an important tool for people who are looking to hire specific services – they will want to check you out before making contact.
It’s also important that your site accurately represents what you’re offering because you may not necessarily have a tangible product to sell - it is therefore difficult to show clients what they’re paying for in advance. If your clients are not impressed by your online presence, they won’t bother to make contact to make that initial enquiry.

The aim of your Portfolio
Your portfolio’s job is to impress and persuade potential clients. Simplicity is the key – people need to know why they should hire you over and above someone else, so if your portfolio is well laid out, clear and impactful, it will tell them what they want to know within seconds.

What to show
Think from your ideal client’s point of view and ask yourself what that person is going to be interested in seeing. You can then decide which of your work you want to display within your portfolio.
Choose a maximum of ten items to display. It can be very tempting to include all the work you have done but in reality people are only going to have the time to view between five and ten before moving on to view something else.

Case Studies
Within your Portfolio, you should turn each project into a case study – detailing the client brief and how you created and fulfilled the project.
Each project should include a list of your skills and how they can be utilised. It’s valuable to include client testimonials because, like your portfolio, these are very powerful in underlining your skills and value from others points of view.
Use items that made you feel excited - this way your enthusiasm will shine through when discussing your portfolio with potential clients.
A good way to build your reputation is to attach your portfolio to your blog – a simple way of giving your visitors the information they need to get to know the style and quality of your work.

Multiple Portfolios
If you work within more than one market, it’s an idea to create different portfolios, each representing an area of your work. You will automatically know which portfolio is the best fit for the specific area of expertise you want to portray.

Give your visitors the answer they are looking for, as simply as you can, and remember, only the best will do!

Read more from OS Web Design:

do-you-understand-why-your-customers-buy-from-you/
why-an-online-marketing-strategy-is-important-when-planning-a-website/
possible-reasons-for-low-conversion-rates/
website-statistics/
what-is-the-difference-between-web-design-and-website-development/
6-tips-to-help-you-stick-to-your-web-design-resolutions-for-2010/
web-design-trends-for-2010/
what-are-call-to-action-buttons/
why-should-a-website-be-compliant-with-standards/
how-do-you-know-if-the-time-is-right-for-a-re-design/

Do you understand why your customers buy from you?

admin — Fri, 21 May 2010 15:37:25 +0000

Why is it important to understand your customers?

Understanding your customers is a crucial part of the website creation process. Ask yourself questions which help you to look at your customer's motivations and include references to these in your content. Customers buy from you for different reasons based on various motivations. Some buy because they think your price is the fairest, some because they find your services impeccable, and some because of your well-earned reputation in your industry.

By getting to know and really understanding your customers, you will be better placed to direct your time, energy and resources into creating compelling content which will result in the right customers for you.

Here is a checklist which should help you to look at your customer's motivations and to identify where there could be opportunities, (and where there may be potential problems), so that you can ask your web designer to update or even re-create your website to attract more interest.

1. It is important to ensure :

Imagine that you want to buy a product in the knowledge that there are a few sites which sell it. The first site you go to takes 30 seconds to load. The next site loads quickly but the product images take ages. You visit a third site and end up buying from there because time is tight and everything you needed to see loaded in just a matter of seconds.

2. That you have a clear call to action

Decide exactly what you want your viewers to do. Do you want them to click on one of the links in your sidebar? Do you want them to read about your product? Do you want them to visit your blog? Or do you want them to buy from you? A clear call to action which says to your viewer, “What you are looking for is here behind this button – click it!”

3. That your messages are not hidden

Place your content so that the high impact information can be seen within the first screen view (so potential customers see it as soon as the page loads), otherwise they may give up and move on.
Your call to action needs to be easy to find - it’s no good making viewers an offer if they have to scroll down to be able to see it.

4. That your website content is easy to understand

If you have a fantastic new product you are launching, are you explaining it in terms everyone will understand? As soon as a viewer sees information they don’t understand, the real danger is that they will go somewhere else.

5. That if you have a shopping basket, your checkout process is simple

If your customers love your product and want to buy it online, ask yourself what you have done to make it as easy for them as possible? Is it a simple process or do they have to meander through a maze of billing and shipping addresses, additional offers and products they don’t even want? Keep it simple!

If you want to make your website both appealing and clever, you need to give it the attention your business deserves, even if this means a total re-design to make sure you are not losing those valuable potential customers to a business which has understood its customers and has taken full advantage of their thought processes.

Don't give your customers the opportunity to feel confused!

Possible reasons for low conversion rates

admin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 07:29:43 +0000

Plenty of visitors but no conversion?

The process of improving your goals conversion rate is known as Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO).

It can be tricky to identify the reasons for a low conversion rate as there could be several contributing factors. However, a good way to measure your success and identify how you could improve your site is to compare your website against similar sites.

If you sell bicycles for example, you need to know your conversion rate and the conversion rate of your most similar competitor.

If your conversion rate on a product is 7%, and the average conversion rate for a similar bike 15%, then you have some work to do on your website. However, if your rate is above average already your website is not likely to increase your sales. Have you thought about adding another model or type of bike to your portfolio which may attract more interest?

Most websites convert less than 2% of their visitors into customers (i.e., people who do what you want them to do - buy a product, make an enquiry, call, click through, download a document, signup for newsletters, etc.)

Reasons why your conversion rate could be low and how to improve it:

Headline
A good headline can make a huge difference in conversions so spend time thinking about how it could be improved.

Call To Action Buttons or Links -
decide on the best possible location for your call to action button or link and make it easy for your visitors to click.

Call To Action Message
Test the message itself to find out whether your “Sign up Free” button is going to convert more highly than a link which says “Learn more about Raleigh bicycles now."

Testimonials
If you don’t already have testimonials on your main page, one of the first things you need to do is to include them - when these are placed in a prominent position they can have a very positive effect on your conversion rate.

Top Landing Pages
One of the most important factors when looking at your conversion rate is your landing page, which is the page your website visitors arrive at after clicking on a link. It could be your home page, or any other page in your site.This gives your potential customers an overall first impression of your business and your products.

Ensure your copy is as descriptive as possible and include some promotions. The best way to do this is to think about where the person has come from, and who they are. By supplying a good match, you are more likely to engage your visitors and increase your conversion rates.

Well designed landing pages also result in higher conversion rates than simply directing people into the home page of your site (which in effect, is like suddenly deserting them and taking a risk they might click their back button to move on to you competitor).
Give your visitors exactly what they were looking for and you will be far more likely to make a sale.

Five Tips on Landing Page Design

Really think about your headline and make sure it's as appropriate as it can be
Position your most important elements in the upper 300 pixels of the page
Study the landing pages of your competition and pay special attention to the design and organisation flow of their pages
Keep it simple and use standard conventions
Ensure your page loads quickly

Top Exit Pages
Top Exit Pages are those pages visitors are leaving from when they exit your site.

To optimise your conversions it’s a good idea to study the patterns of how your customers engage with your site. You can sign up to Google Analytics for free. By utilising this information, you can ask your web designer to make adjustments to your site to ensure you are giving the visitors to your site more of what they are looking for.

Please read:

What is the difference between Web Design and Website Development?

admin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:28:51 +0000

Design and development skills are both required in order to produce a fully functioning and successful website. Even though the intricacies of their workings may be totally different, their aims are similar – and one is as crucial as the other if you really want to see results.
However, it really is important to know the difference between the two, as when you are designing a new website, or asking your designer to put your new site together, you need a basic understanding of what you need to ask them for, i.e., what your visitors see when they look at a web page is the actual design of the page. What makes that website worth the time required for them to navigate it, is the development (which lies behind the scenes).

DESIGN

Good web design means creating great looking websites whilst ensuring they are still as user-friendly as they can possibly be. Experienced designers will have a wealth of knowledge and practice utilising not only HTML, but also CSS, Javascript and other graphics packages such as Photoshop, Fireworks and Flash to name just a few. By using these tools they create the foundations of the website and, together with you, decide right from the outset, just how your website should look when it's completely finished. The actual design result does not contain any coding and is just a graphical representation.

DEVELOPMENT

Web development is the programming in the back end which converts the beautiful design into a good working and professional website. The web development can be very basic for a small static brochure website or more complex for a website which requires to be dynamic, needs a content management system, payment facility, shopping carts or a register and login area with user name and password. Also online forums such as Wikipedia http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_forum are a good example of web development. To ensure that your website is performing well and remains competitive and the back end is flexible it is very important to engage experts when planning your website and to really think about what your website needs to do when you start and what functionalities you want to add to the site in the future.

The back end programming is also a vital element required in order to increase the visitor’s online experience - it is important to remember that the development goes hand in hand with the design which holds the visitor’s attention at the very beginning of the whole process.
If you want to produce a really user-friendly and professional-looking website, which is eye-catching, visually attractive and does the job you want it to do, both the design and the development need to be given your full attention in the planning process.

6 Tips to help you stick to your Web Design Resolutions for 2010

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:57:08 +0000

Are you one of those people who makes resolutions for your website and then, because you’re busy, busy, busy or because other demands come higher up on your list, you let them slip? If so, here are some tips to help you form a plan you can stick to with the overall aim of increasing traffic to your site:

1. Content

Updating the content of your site on a regular basis will help your search engine ranking and this alone could result in more visitors.
Do you calendarise reminders to send updates to your web designer? If not, set them up now!
If you rely on a developer to do this for you and you’re finding it expensive, you may be better off investing in a CMS (Content Management System) as you will see the return on your investment over time. If on the other hand your content isn’t updated because you don’t have the time and you haven’t asked anyone else to do it, delegate it now to a Virtual Assistant.

2. CMS

A professional web designer can develop a CMS which allows you or your PA to update your content and add additional content. Just remember, on some pages of your website the text will remain the same, and won’t need to be changed frequently. For example, you will probably want your contact details to remain static. Examples of these may be :

Blog
Newsletter
Articles
Be Organised

Your web designer will need to know which areas of your site will need to be changed on a regular basis so that he or she can plan the CMS accordingly. Your content obviously needs to be written and then added to your site. Whether you do this yourself or you delegate it, just schedule regular times to assign team-members or the people assisting you with sourcing images - there are writers out there who, for a fee can write your content for you.

3. Image & Design

You already have a corporate identity and your website needs to reflect this. A poor design gives an unprofessional image and if your existing design is not connected to your brand, potential customers may become confused.

When you make changes to your website, sometimes the design becomes affected so it is worth taking a cold hard look at the navigational elements to ensure that the information you have updated is within the relevant area of your site. It may be that you used a pre-set template which you have added to over a few months and this may no longer be appropriate for your content as your business evolves.
If this is the case, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Your original designer could upgrade your site for you or, you could go to a new designer and ask them to re-organise your content to create a new and better image.

Keep in mind that under your new “organised” regime, you will be adding fresh content on a regular basis, so ensure that whoever you use for your re-design is aware of this before creating the new navigational aspects.

4. Ensure your website is working for you

Your site really needs to be working away for you in the background. For example, by linking it to your blog you are creating credibility in your area of expertise and you will improve your search engine ranking. If you sell products rather than services, your site should be an e-commerce site, selling those products while you work on other areas of your business. Don’t forget to show your visitors what you and your business can do for them – allow for an area to display client testimonials.

5. Prioritise & Get Smart

List the issues before taking steps to involve help. By writing them down, it will become clearer whether you need a designer, a Google Adwords specialist or someone who can build your CMS, or a combination of all of these. Most companies will assess the existing areas of weakness and provide a quote for their solution. It might however be a good idea to spend some time with all three of the aforementioned which will ensure your investment is well spent. The team you choose can then, between them, create a plan to produce your re-design according to your budget and priorities.

It is important to calculate a budget from the word go. It’s better to be realistic, and if you know you won’t have the time available to write a regular blog, either outsource it to your writer or VA or get rid of it! If you’d like your designer to manage your content updates, you can ask them to help you with the scheduling.

6. Easier Longterm Management

It really isn’t that difficult to re-plan your website and, like anything which requires a bit of thought and dedication, just think of the benefits it will bring to you and your business in the longer term. By having a clear, itemised schedule, developed in conjunction with your web designer, you will find it much easier to manage as well!

Web Design Trends for 2010

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:08:07 +0000

To keep your website visitors interested in 2010 you really need to ensure your site is visually more interesting and more visually stimulating than that of your competitors. If you haven’t updated it’s visual 'look' for some time, the new year is a great time to start.

In your move away from 2009 and into 2010, think about how your business has evolved over the last year and how you want to portray any new products or services within your new or updated website to keep the attention of your prospective clients.

To help give you some inspiration, here are some ideas of what to think about for 2010:

Using Large Text and Headers

To create a big impact, it’s not necessary to use Flash – it is still not great for the search engines and some may even say it has seen better days. Flash plugins are fine to use for the occasional banner, video or movie, but using Javascript and JQuery is a far more search-engine friendly alternative.

Instead KISS (the old sales abbreviation of 'Keep It Simple Stupid')! Use a banner or a large logo so that all your visitors have to do is scroll down to read about you, instead of having to perform several clicks to get to where they want to be.

Potential customers can become confused by too much information on a website, so simplify the words and paragraphs you display on your site to focus their attention on where you want them to go. This is bound to increase your conversion rates.

Magazine Layouts

Think about magazines and the way they are styled in such a way to attract reader attention. If you keep your paragraphs short and think about displaying them in blocks next to relevant and interesting images, this will not only be appealing to your visitors but it will also allow the visitor to really focus on what interests them.

Ulster Grocer

Funky Fonts

Have you thought about using some unusual fonts instead of the regular Arial, Times New Roman, etc. Funky fonts are fun and help to ensure your site remains unique and different from the 'norm.' A website that utilises typography in this way will be far more interesting to read than using just photos and images.

Fonts.com for great font ideas

The Business Card Layout

This is another way of keeping things simple and does away with the need for the user to navigate, as they will have all the information they need on one page. It will also help you by get rid of all the old content which is no longer relative. If you decide to use this style, it will be more of a 'holding page' telling your visitors how to locate you and your blog, your social media sites, etc., not forgetting of course your business testimonials. These layouts will reflect personal profiles and will probably have more of a casual feel about them.

The use of large Images

Illustrations, designs and logos help to keep your visitors' attention and not only help your site to stand out from the crowd, but also look appealing. Large images create a visual impact which will stick in your visitors' minds. The images draw the visitor into your site simply by their very size.

Using icons in the place of text

If you research some websites designed with children in mind, you’ll notice these sites often use icons instead of text as, again, icons are a way of keeping to keep things simple. They make it as easy as possible for your visitors to click on exactly where they want to go.

Project Icons

The use of White Space

Too many sites use strong coloured backgrounds which are not great on the eye and make it difficult to read the important messages you are trying to get across. White and cream or more muted colours are best for background space in order to keep your visitors’ attention focused on what you're telling them.

Having said all this, it doesn’t mean you have to have a very minimalist website. By simply removing out of date or unnecessary elements of your site will, by default create a simpler visual picture.

Modal Boxes

Another trend that’s on the way in is a modal box. You could compare it to a pop up box although it is much more subtle and sophisticated. Modal boxes are interactive, requiring your visitor to take action - here is an example:

Great to use for alerts, contact forms or downloads

Testing

Tests should be carried out on your site to establish which features are redundant so that they can be eliminated in your new re re-vamped site. To display elements without reason is just helping towards confusing visitors and possibly preventing them from getting to where they want to be. Remember not a lot of people have a lot of time these days and if your site features too much information, your potential customer may just go somewhere else.

Minimalist

Think about a blank canvas on which you can make a bold statement. By using blasts of colour coupled with clever typography, you can create a very impactful website.

Larger Footers

By using a large footer, it can become more an integral part of your whole design. Within the footer you could feature your social media, for example, Twiiter and Facebook updates.

Vintage Designs

Have you thought about using a vintage design using colours from the 30s or 40s? This would create a refreshing change for your 2010 website.

Intro Boxes

An Intro Box is a great way of introducing yourself without the need for an 'About' page. It’s a good idea as it means you only have limited space in which to really get your message across. For example, you may just wish to feature your logo, state the name of your company, contact details and ask your visitors to click to take them to the page where they can read about you and your testimonials.

Hello and welcome

admin — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:39:55 +0000

Hello and welcome to my blog,

This blog is aims to provide information about latest website issues and and web design trends.

Thank you for visiting

Onika