Web Site Design - Create a Website for Business Success With This Step by Step Help (2/2)

Graphics and Design
This is the stage where the basic shape of the site page is formed. There are many decisions to be made such as:

• What does the banner header and footer look like?
• What shapes and lines will provide the page form?
• What color palette should be used?
• What monitor resolution should the page be designed for?
• How are other resolutions going to be accommodated?
• Where should the primary page links be?
• Will there be secondary links and/or drop down menus?
• How will the logo be incorporated?

Needless to say, this is a very important step in the process, as the look of the entire site will depend upon the decisions made here. Unless you are an experienced web designer, your company or organization will undoubtedly benefit from using a professional web design company for this phase. Graphics and design is where art meets form.

Creating Template Pages
Once the Graphics and Design step has been completed and approved by the client, a template page is usually created. Often there are different templates used for the home page, and for other pages; but the idea here is to create a working model that can be used for page layout. One key advantage of using template pages is changes universal to the site, such as the information in the header or footer, can be changed once on a single form, rather than changing many individual pages.

Page Layout
Having a completed script is certainly a tremendous head start for web page layout; but creating a well laid out web page involves more than cut-and-paste. There are many nuances that must be worked out in the process of converting from a word processor to a HTML page. Emphasizing headlines, creating bullet points, establishing boundaries around photos and designing the flow of a page is all part of the process.

Cascading Style Sheets
Cascading Style Sheets, or CSS for short are valuable tools for the competent web designer. They provide the instruction set that defines the color, size, position and other parameters of each class of text, graphics and other elements on a website. The CSS can also create challenges for the designer, as different browser editions will display a page differently than the others. This means that provisions and workarounds are frequently required in order to maintain a consistent look and feel across various platforms.

Form Pages and Programming Form pages are used to collect information or to do other jobs on a web page. Examples include:

• Email forms that protect the recipient from SPAM
• Information forms for collecting data such as name, address, phone, etc.
• Calculation forms to add, multiply or perform more complex equations
• Upload forms allowing users to send attachment

More complex forms are possible such as applications, and ecommerce Upon submitting a form multiple actions can be taken such as sending an email to the website administrator, in addition to sending an automated response to the sender.

Email@
One of the benefits of having a dedicated domain is the ability to keep the same email address, regardless of who your internet service provider (ISP) is. If you’re ever had to switch from one ISP to another you know what I mean. The ability to set up nearly limitless email addresses @yourdomain.com can provide the capacity for your organization to grow without fear of running out of names.

E-Commerce Web Site
If you want to sell your wares on the internet you may be ready for an ecommerce solution. This will allow you to reach an audience 24/7 that may otherwise be inaccessible to your goods and services. Once your shopping cart solution is in place; listing photos, descriptions and prices of your products are only the start. A successful ecommerce site is tuned to achieve the best conversion rate, making sure that each step along the buying process is comfortable and assuring to your shoppers.

Page Optimization
A good web site should be optimized for:

• Quick downloads of pictures, graphics, and other elements

• Good navigation that is easy to understand

• Logical organization and grouping of pages

• Good page names making information easy to find

• Good titles and subtitles to allow quick information scanning

Web Server or Web Host
The Web Server is the real computer where your web site is stored. It could be in your office. It could be provided by your web developer, a web host service in your town, or hundreds of miles away. Since it is connected to computer users from around the world, it’s really not so important. What is important is:

• Is it fast? Will it allow multiple users access at the same time?
• Is it well connected? Can the photos and videos be efficiently downloaded?
• Is it secure and safe from hackers and intruders?
• Is it backed up? What if the power goes off?

Website Updates and Maintenance
A good web site is one that changes on a regular basis. Depending on the design, these updates can be made by the average user or performed by your web developer. Your site should reflect:

• New products being added
• New announcement being made
• A shift in policy or direction
• New employees added

Big projects being completed Your web site is your communication tool with the world. In order to maintain the interest of viewers it needs to stay fresh with new information all of the time. This is also key to creating better content, and better content is key to being highly ranked by search engines. The more highly ranked your site is the more likely you are to be found by your customers.

Website Advertising and Promotion
The best website in the world will not be found without doing something to get the word out. Using good keywords, getting links to your site, and making regular changes to your content are good choices to promote and raise the visibility of your site, but those methods take time. A much quicker method is through the use of pay-per-click campaigns.

Pay-per-click advertising is provided by the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN and others. It is a fast track method to buy visibility on the first page for searches pertinent to your content or chosen keywords. The basic steps to create a pay-per-click campaign are:

• Select keywords that your customers might use to search for your services
• Set a geographic area for your ads to appear
• Write ad copy to attract customers to click on your ads
• Set a maximum amount that you will pay per click
• Set a daily maximum
• You pay only for clicks to your web site

Your ad will appear in the area marked sponsored listings. It will be higher or lower than the other sponsored listings based on the maximum bid that you offer in relation to the others, among other factors. The cost to have good visibility on a page will depend largely upon the amount of competition for the keywords being bid on.

Don’t overlook using some of the simplest forms of advertising to help get the word out such as adding your website address to your business cards, flyers, newspaper ads, to the bottom of every email you send out, etc. If you already have brochures printed, get some printed labels to apply with the new information. If you use methods like radio, television or billboards be certain that your website is present in those ads too. This form of advertising is generally called cross-promotion. The web is a 24/7 sales agent that can only work if it can be found.

Web Design Services
Designing a web site design for your company or organization is an important task. This guide seeks to provide a simple overview to help you to understand and prepare for the steps involved. Knowing what to expect as you create your website, whether through the services of a professional web designer or creating it on your own will help you achieve the best results possible.