Fresh Design Solutions

There are so many different ways in which you can lay out a website that often the navigation is in a different place from one site to the next. Historically navigations used to always be at the top of the site spanning the whole page but with sites getting larger and larger it is not always possible to fit all of your main pages on to a top navigation. Also with the use of smart devices such as phones and tablets, it is important that your navigation is easy to use across multiple device and displays in the correct way.

You will need to decide if you are going to have drop downs from your main navigation and how this will work. Will the drop downs expand when you hover over them or only on a click? One important point to remember is consistency. Your navigation shouldn’t alter much when you click through to other pages. You may decide to have a second navigation when on other pages but the main way to navigate through the site should remain in the same position with the buttons in the same order. This is a very simple point but one that often is missed by many businesses.

If you are thinking of having a logo designed for your business, then you need to consider what it needs to say and do. A logo can be a vital part of the business and building up brand awareness. You think of some of the top companies such as MacDonald’s, Google, BT and Facebook- their logos are all quite simple but very recognisable. They instantly and consistently do what a potent logo should: Identify a brand, make it stand out and, ideally, drive customer interest and sales.

There are different types of logos that you can choose from such as wordmarks or letterforms which are logos that have the name of the company, abbreviated letters or one letter as their logos such as eBay, Google and HP. Another type of logo is pictorial logos such as Twitter, Starbucks or Pepsi are images that portray which brand the logo belongs too. These are still instantly recognisable despite not having any written words on them. Deciding on which sort you use is often a personal choice but if you have a short company name you may be able to easily fit it into your logo.

When someone looks at your logo you want them to instantly associate it with you and ensure that it gives the right impression of your business.

 

 

When designing an ecommerce website it is vital that you have a strategy in place. You need to think carefully about the process and about how people are going to get from your home page to product pages, through to completing the checkout process. You also need to consider that people may go directly to a product page from the search engine results page on Google, Bing or Yahoo for example.

The checkout process should be easy to complete and secure. You need to ensure that you ask for enough details as possibly to fulfil the order without making the process too lengthy. Some websites offer two ways to check out; one being where you can register on the site, it stores your details so you can easily place repeat orders and possibly track your orders, and two where you can check out as a guest. Guest checkout is often a quicker simpler process but sometimes means the customer cannot log back in to see order history etc. Giving your customers these two options can improve sales conversion rates.

When there are charges for delivery, it is important that you make it clear how much it is going to cost. Recent research shows that sites that do not tell you the delivery charge until right at the end of the checkout process often puts people off using them.

 

 

If you are looking to build a directory website then you need to plan very carefully how it is all going to work. You need to think about how you are going to allow people to sign up or if you want to manually take the sign ups and add them to the website yourself. This is often the cheapest way of doing it but does mean there is more work involved for yourself, adding your businesses to the directory.

The programming of a directory website is very important and for that reason you need to ensure you use a competent web programmer. You may have to fork out a bit initially to get it all p and running, but once this has been done, you can then start to make money back either from taking money for people to register on the site or by selling advertising space on the site. To sell advertising space you will need to show your potential businesses the amount of traffic your site receives and give them some sort of statistics as to how many clicks on their advert they are getting etc.

Directory websites are not for the faint hearted but can generate a good income once up and running.

 

If you are a developer or someone looking to design your own website then you may consider using WordPress. It is one of the largest open source website development tools on the market and can be very easy to use. When you first install WordPress it will come with a few standard themes. These themes are often quite basic and may not do everything you need them to. There are many places where you can download free themes but if you are using them for commercial use, be sure to check the license agreement first as some are only free for personal use such as setting up a private blog.

The beauty of WordPress is not only can you install a number of different themes to use you can then adapt these themes and also add Plugins. WordPress Plugins add extra functionality to the site without having to change the whole theme. Some plugins are only compatible with some themes but often you will not struggle to find them.

It is important to check before installing a plugin that it works with your version of WordPress. If not you may need to update your site or find a plugin that is.

Before changing your theme or adding any plugins it is important to back up your site, including the database where all the content is stored. Should anything go wrong you can quickly reinstate the back up.

 

There are many ways in which you can market a business and these are often broken down in to online and offline marketing. Some avenues of marketing work better for some businesses than others. Often you need to experiment a bit to find out which marketing avenues suit your type of business the best.

Below are a few examples of marketing for you to consider when working out where to spend your marketing budget:

Website – A website can be the most powerful selling tool for any business. With many people using the internet to find products and services they need, it is vital for all businesses to have one.

Pay per Click advertising – This is a form of online marketing that allows you to create an advert on the search engines and their selected partners. When the ad is clicked they are taken to a page on your website. You usually pay a price per click.

Leaflet dropping – This is a form of offline marketing when you produce a leaflet about your businesses product’s and /or services. You can then distribute these through doors or in shops etc.

It is important to be able to track your return on investment so make sure you have steps in place to enable you to do this.

 

 

Overtime it is easy to clutter a website up by adding lots of different information and gadgets to it. These may not have been thought about when you originally had the website created and therefore they may not fit seamlessly in to the design.

If you notice that your website has become harder to navigate round or that you have a higher bounce rate than usual it may be that you need to redesign you site. It is very important to spend some times thinking carefully about the layout before making any changes. You need to make sure that everything on your site adds value and is worth while keeping. If it isn’t, then it may be time to get rid of it or change it to something that is.

Have a look at your competition, what are they doing, do they offer something your website doesn’t? It may be something as simple as adding a “request a call back” button or adding in a simple contact form rather than just an email address.

Have a good look at your statistics for the site, see what pages are working well and which ones may need improving.

 

When having a website designed it’s one thing finding a good web designer to build you a modern interesting website but it’s really up to yourself to choose the style of website you’d like and to understand that the design you go for can say a lot about your business.

Simplicity – sometimes simplicity is best as its clear and concise and can convey basic information quickly to a potential customer making them more likely to read on. However if the subject matter of your business is a complex one then over simplifying could make you seem unprofessional and lacking in the correct knowledge.

Colours – bright colours are great for attracting attention but are they appropriate for your website? If your website is for a children’s play centre or a bargain sales page then yes however if your website is for a relaxing spa for instance then use of more tranquil colours would be a much better fit.

Tone – the tone of your website is generally the impression that it gives a potential customer and getting this right is key! Being overly formal can put some people off but there are cases where formality is a necessity such as a solicitors website or a funeral directors, it’s very important to know your audience and accommodate them as best as possible for optimum results.