Who cares if your website impresses yourself? You won't make much money selling products to yourself you're looking for new customers. They, not you, have to come first when it comes to designing your site. There are six important rules to follow.
Rule #1: Make your site fast. People have broadband for a reason, so if your site takes forever to load, they're going to seek their business elsewhere. Make sure your page is simple enough to load in an instant. This way, they won't leave out of boredom.
Rule #2: Don't make users download anything. Sure, ActiveX and other technologies can do amazing things but they're a pain to install, and open up users to viruses or other bad things. HTML is powerful enough to do whatever you need it to.
Rule #3: Be classy. This means no annoying MIDI music, no animated GIFs, and definitely no blinking text. If you want customers to see you as a trustworthy source, you need to exemplify class in your web site. Nothing turns people off more than tackiness.
Rule #4: Don't "Do-it-yourself" on a business page. If you are building a personal page and learning to create your own HTML code, then that's OK, but if you want professional results then go for professional custom web design. Like it or not, businesses are judged by their storefronts, and if your electronic storefront looks junky, you are going to turn off potential customers.
Rule #5: Know who you're selling to. Everyone's product appeals to a different demographic. Learn what yours is, then tailor your web image to those people. Grandmothers are interested in different imagery than kids, obviously, and middle-aged hunters something else entirely.
Rule #6: Hire the most talented webmaster you can. Talented does not mean the person knows the most, but it does mean the person is a good fit. Make sure that your webmaster can fix everything on your page, because whether you want to think about it or not, your website will go down at some point.
Custom web design comes down to, once and for all, good design principles. Play by the rules, and you'll have an inexpensive but customizable site within your budget and appealing to your core audience. Plan ahead, and you'll have great results. - 16089
Rule #1: Make your site fast. People have broadband for a reason, so if your site takes forever to load, they're going to seek their business elsewhere. Make sure your page is simple enough to load in an instant. This way, they won't leave out of boredom.
Rule #2: Don't make users download anything. Sure, ActiveX and other technologies can do amazing things but they're a pain to install, and open up users to viruses or other bad things. HTML is powerful enough to do whatever you need it to.
Rule #3: Be classy. This means no annoying MIDI music, no animated GIFs, and definitely no blinking text. If you want customers to see you as a trustworthy source, you need to exemplify class in your web site. Nothing turns people off more than tackiness.
Rule #4: Don't "Do-it-yourself" on a business page. If you are building a personal page and learning to create your own HTML code, then that's OK, but if you want professional results then go for professional custom web design. Like it or not, businesses are judged by their storefronts, and if your electronic storefront looks junky, you are going to turn off potential customers.
Rule #5: Know who you're selling to. Everyone's product appeals to a different demographic. Learn what yours is, then tailor your web image to those people. Grandmothers are interested in different imagery than kids, obviously, and middle-aged hunters something else entirely.
Rule #6: Hire the most talented webmaster you can. Talented does not mean the person knows the most, but it does mean the person is a good fit. Make sure that your webmaster can fix everything on your page, because whether you want to think about it or not, your website will go down at some point.
Custom web design comes down to, once and for all, good design principles. Play by the rules, and you'll have an inexpensive but customizable site within your budget and appealing to your core audience. Plan ahead, and you'll have great results. - 16089
About the Author:
Stephen Grisham, Sr. is a Staff Writer for InfoServe Media, a Houston, TX website design company that provides custom web design. Visit today, or call 1 (800) 838-2203 for a free quote.
