How to Optimize Website Usability Through Web Development

Website Development mainly refers to changes brought in a website to make it of optimum use to the visitor. The use of the website depends on the visitors and its efficiency at converting them into buyers. The revenue generated by the website marks the extent to which it is successful.

How to make the website more usable for the visitor?

First of all the buyer behavior needs to be considered. The web development should be about changes that fulfills the needs of the buyer. Once the visitor is on your website, he/she should be able to find what is sought in the least number of clicks.

The web development should quicken and make easy the navigation through the website. This means that the layout should be made simple and to the point.

Catchy taglines revealing information about what the business identity offers, vision and mission, about us, and contact should be displayed on the website. This should be attractive enough to make the visitor glued to the website and inquisitive to visit other pages.

The search box should be such as to scan not only a specific page but also the whole website. This facilitates the visitor to reach the page that corresponds to the words put in the search box.

Web development does not only mean making the website attractive by addition of visuals only. At times this can be harmful for the business. One should know that usually redundant visuals add to the downloading time. This is a very critical issue. It is better to get rid of useless visuals that have adverse effect on the downloading time. A slight increase in downloading time can turn off the visitor and there are chances he/she may click on to the other website.

It is always better to provide a sitemap to the visitor so that he/she is facilitated at navigating to the page of his/her purpose. The sitemap is a catalogue of different pages in the website along with the links to access them. This facilitates not only the visitor at navigating through the website but also considered a positive aspect for search engine optimization. Read the rest of this entry »

The Basics of Web Design and Web Development

Web design has been one of the trends in the recent years. It has helped companies to market their name, brand and services to a wider scope of market. The only problem is that the web design should be able to capture your audience’s attention and make an impression in less than five seconds. Five seconds, that is not enough time to tell them what you want and to even sell them your product, service or idea. So how do you do this at this time when people want instant results and with the tons of other competitions in the web today?

The first thing that you need to remember is to get to the point of what you want to say. We live in a world where everything is fast and are done in an instant: fast food meals, losing weight in days and even starting and ending marriages are done in haste. The way people use the internet is not so different, so if you can’t deliver in a matter of four or five seconds, then you’re dead.

This means that you need to have something interesting to make the visitor stop and think. Test your website while it is loading and see how long it takes to load; what are the first thing that you can see; how long until you can read something from it and how long will your visitor take to understand what you wanted to convey.

The ideal thing is for the site to load from top to bottom, left to right. Then the most eye-catching elements should start to load before everything can finish loading. Furthermore, think about the pictures that you would use and the format that you will use. Use a format that will load quickly and do not try to try the visitor’s patience. Read the rest of this entry »

Ten Tips on How to Find The Right Web Designer for Your Business

A talented individual or company can give your website a professional touch and make it stand out from your competitors. However, you should spend some time to find the right web designer to meet your needs. Here are some tips to keep in mind before you make your final decision.

1. Identify the Primary Goal of Your Web site or Blog

Before you request the help of a web designer, you need to determine the primary goal of your site. Is the purpose of your blog or website to sell products, provide information, collect contacts or provide services? Do you want to include audio, video or animation and do you require search engine optimization? Is web marketing a part of your plan? If you are unsure about any of these elements, discuss them with your designer before beginning the design process.

2. Investigate the Designer’s Skill Set

You should find out the particular skill sets and strengths of a prospective web designer or team. Some designers specialize in helping small business owners and focus in one or two main areas. They may rely on partners or other individuals to assist with other aspects of the design process. Remember that programming and designing are two completely different skill sets. Just because someone is a talented designer, does not mean that this individual can program efficiently or vice-versa. Design agencies can often provide experienced individuals who can assist you in both areas.

3. Review A Designer’s Portfolio Carefully

If you are considering hiring a web designer, make sure to review their entire portfolio. Visit other websites the person has designed, and look for at least one site that catches your attention. You need to find someone whose work you admire. You should also remember that most designers solicit additional resources for design support resources and page coding any sites they create.

4. Check Multiple References

Often the best way to find a talented web designer is by word-of-mouth referrals. However, it may still be suitable to consult multiple references. Talk to more than one site owner who have hired the individual or team you are considering to find out their experience. Every website contains multiple components that are often frequently updated so be sure to inquire the date when a particular site was created. If you encounter a negative reference for a designer with an impressive portfolio, find out how long ago the work was completed. It may be possible that the designer had issues with the client or that their skills set or policies have changed with time and experience. Read the rest of this entry »