Posts Tagged ‘website’

Purpose

Monday, January 12th, 2009

Website design should have a purpose and a goal behind it.  It is quite easy to create something that is visually appealing but it serves no purpose.  The purpose of your website must be ingenuously communicated through clever design that works to deliver the core message of your site.

Code is consciously ignored during the design phase.  This may be surprising to many who are not involved in design, especially when it is logical that the designer and programmer should ideally work hand in hand.  But when it comes to good webdesign, the designer takes precedence then the coding is done, even though it may take some time.

Decoration or design with no rhyme or reason tends to hinder rather than help a website.  Once the underlying content is valuable, the design aspect will take care of itself.

Navigation

Monday, January 12th, 2009

There is nothing really worse than a very beautiful website that leads me to thinking “where am I?” and “what next?”

What is navigation and what is content should be as clear cut as night an day.  Sometime what are ‘clickable’ text or buttons is not clearly laid out and when the cursor should change over ‘clickable’ text or links, it does not.

It really does not matter how the site looks, or what fancy script you tack on, if the navigation does not make sense and the website is not simple and user-friendly, there will be minimum time spent on your site.
The navigation through any website is the most valuable element.   Really do your utmost and try to make sure that the site content is organised into clear cut, sensible sections and that links are visually different than the regular content and that the navigation then reflects this.

Communication

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

Web design is not art.  Web design is communication.

Web design delivers the core message of your site within seconds and acts as an interface between the user and that product, function or information.  Design does not stop at looking nice and placing function before form is key to ingenuous design.  When this is done, form enhances function.

Websites are so much better than they were about fifteen years ago, in the early 1990s.  Web designers have learned from their mistakes made in the early years and web design companies  have surely evolved.  With greater experience and greater knowledge of what works as opposed to what does not work, web design companies know that usability is the key to a website’s success.  It is necessary to have equal and healthy doses of design and function.

Web design is somewhat like architecture and, like architecture, web design needs to be beautiful, durable and usable all at the same time.

Small business website

Saturday, December 27th, 2008

Congratulations! You have traveled the rocky path of setting up your own business.  It’s a small business.  It is your baby.  You have toiled over the bills and night and thought that by now, after 4 years, that you would have seen the profits coming in in larger sums.

Small business run out of a home garage have shot their owners to overnight successes by setting up a website.

Right now, the sale of your product depends on word of mouth and on the random walk-in customer.  You make your payments, pay your bills and are keeping your ‘head above water’ as they say.  But was bare ‘surviving’ your intention when you set up your biz?

Imagine that when you portray your business through a website, millions of users surf into your site, see your products.  Sales will be boosted.  Yes, people will be able to purchase off the website that is tailored with an e-commerce application that is super secure.

Websites are not for the big businesses only.  They also generate big returns for the small biz.

What do I need a website for?

Thursday, December 11th, 2008

I sell cups. Yes, cups. Those vessels used for holding hot liquids for us to drink – those types of cups, all types of them.

Therefore, pray tell me why I would need a website?

My business has been steady and in this world of unsteady, that is good.

I pay the bills and we are comfortable.

My niece tells me a website would increase my sales worldwide. How can this be when I live in a small town? She speaks about someone in Europe wanting to buy a set of my teacups via the internet and all I would do is ship to him. What about my bills? If I am shipping to Europe, that is expensive postage. She tells me I will get paid via ‘e-commerce’ before I ship.

So, I try this website thing. A ‘webdesigner’ person comes and shows me things I don’t understand, but he takes photographs of my cups.

The website is done.

I hire my niece.

My cups are being sold in China. Now why would the Chinese want my cups? But they do.

I get orders from Belgium, Johannesburg, Peru and many other countries.

We now sell saucers and teaspoons, sugar bowls and cream pitchers…