All Posts, Web Design
I’m going to let you in on a few secrets most web designers may not willingly tell you. A lot of the work we do isn’t all that complicated. Sure there are plenty of things we do that can get complicated; coding, developing, image splicing, and more. However there are some elements of your website you can make changes on or update on your own – provided that you have HTML or WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editing programs.
ALT TEXT/TAGS – This is a pretty simple but also vital piece to each page of your website. Reason being is that whenever you scroll your mouse over an image, a small window pops up to give you a description of what that image is. That’s ALT text. Search engines use this for search and site relevance, but more importantly, this is web accessibility. There are programs that read aloud what the images are based on the ALT text. This is especially helpful for people with handicaps.
PAGE DESCRIPTIONS – Each page of your website should have it’s own description. Say your website is a cooking baking shop in downtown. Well your services page should have a description (in short) of the overall concept of that page and what people will find on that page. The wording should be quite short and NOT contain the same “keywords” or meta-tags for that page. I’ll explain more on those in a bit. For example: “ACME manufactures 100% iron anvils to fit all types of Road Runner traps.” From reading that page description I know exactly what the content on this page is going to be about.
SPELL CHECK – A simple enough concept here, but often overlooked. I remember my early days of web design, and thinking I was hot stuff. I focused more on the overall design and very little on the context of each page. Though my editor Dreamweaver (from Macromedia – now Adobe) had a spell check feature, I rarely used it or remember too. It wasn’t till a clients friend or the actual client pointed out some misspelled words on a freshly launched site that I would notice. You don’t necessarily need Dreamweaver to do spell check, but most of us all have a document editing program that does include spell check in it. Use it!
DOMAIN EXPIRATION’S – HubSpot talks about this issue and recently highlighted an example from the Dallas Cowboys. Apparently there website Dallascowboys.com hosting expired, and therefore was down. The geniuses at HubSpot advocate for domain registrations in excess of 5+ years. Most domains are registered for a year or two then are set to expire. There are options to “auto-renew”, but not all hosting companies set domains to do so. You can easily update this by logging into your hosting account and updating your hosting package/information for a longer hosting period. May cost a bit more up front, but like your driver’s license, you never know when it will expire till you get pulled over and the office informs you.
META TAGS and KEYWORDS – Another key element of valuable SEO information is your page meta tags and keywords. These are two separate elements, but closely related. To view what your current tags and words are you can simply “right click” on your web page then “left click” on “view page source”. Here is an example
<meta name="Keywords" content="ACME, Traps, Anvils, Loony Tunes, road-runner, desert, somewhere-remote,
warner, brothers, studios" />
A really good “cheater” tip about this, if you Google your services in your area and find that your competition from one town over is always on page one, and you’re on page 4; look at their keywords and modify your own close to theirs. I’d like to say copy there’s but I’ll get hate mail. So be a little more creative with your own to stay legit.
BROWSER COMPATIBILITY – This is an easy one to troubleshoot but may be a bit harder to fix. There are probably about 7 – 8 difference browsers you can use these days. Most of these are pretty popular and widely used. They include Google Chrome, Opera, Safari, and of course Internet Explorer and its many versions. Let me start with IE. I should really start by saying as a designer; I loathe Internet Explorer, regardless of the version. Microsoft currently has IE 9 out right now. Though most people will be automatically updated if PC users have their Window updates set to automatic, not everyone will. The problem with IE is that each version will give you different views of your web page depending on how it is coded. I know, it shouldn’t be that way, it’s not fair, but it’s true. Check it out for yourself and see. Once you’re done with that, see how your site looks on smart and mobile phones. Studies show that more sites are being viewed on mobile browsers and if your site is horribly rendered on one it could cost you a sale.
There are plenty more tips I could put up, but I dare not scare you further into calling your designer or better yet using your Batman signal for an emergency meeting. If you’d like to know some free editing apps click here to contact me and I’ll email you a free list. I’ll most likely post about a few soon if the interest is there.
All Posts, Web Design
These days creating a website is cheap and fast. The learning curve has also been sharply reduced. But most of these advancements are due to software that takes the technicality out of the true form. What I’ve highlighted below are some flags or concerns that you should be aware of before setting up a website for yourself or business.
Hiring a Web Designer and/or Web Developer
This is crucial because either way it is going to cost you some money and you want to make sure you get a good return on your investment. Obviously you’re going to get what you pay for, and that’s the good part – knowing the difference between a web designer and a web developer? A web designer will typically design the layout, colors, form, and graphics of your site. A web developer will take those plans and actually build your site, code it, test it, and launch it. These days the two professions are sometimes combined in one person or firm. Also be sure to check references or at least their portfolio of work.
Using a Free Service or Web Platform
Websites like WordPress.org or Homestead.com are some of the more popular names for online website creation. There are many more that range from free to premium. What you want to be careful with is that you get what you pay for. Free sites are great for starter sites, but lack the freedom for creativity. When I say freedom I mean, freedom to choose where to place your logo, having a different layout on each page as apposed to the same flow on you home page, about page, and services page. Or the freedom to choose any color you want for your background, font, or columns.
Provider and Client Communication
If you do hire a professional, be sure to keep in regular communication with them. One of the main complaints most designers have is a client that does not keep in touch. Enthusiasm is always high at the start of any project, and ideas are fluent. But after a few weeks, communication (on both sides) starts to decrease. Even worse is when the project is not delivered on schedule or it does not resemble the original blueprint. All of these problems can be dealt with and avoided with proper communication between the client and company.Ask lots of questions. Don’t be shy or reluctant to ask something that you’re not clear about. After all, you did hire this firm to do a specific job for you and you are paying them to do it!
Advice From All The Wrong Places
Sure getting an opinion from your mother in Florida is nice from time to time, but she’s no designer. Nor is your best friend that works in construction. The mechanics, design, and functionality of a website are best reviewed by a qualified field related professional. Be sure to get the right advice from the right people e.g. friends who have used a similar platform, or who have hired the designer that you’re planning to use. Also, ask your web designer to show you as many samples as needed to make you feel comfortable about your project.
Getting What You Paid For
This is a lesson learned in just about any field of business. If you’re on a shoestring budget, you should consider a minimalist website. A good firm should be able to build one to suit your current budget. However a better one will create a site for you that can grow as your budget grows. And the adverse of this is paying too little and expecting too much. As the saying goes “the proof is in the pudding.”
So if you’re in the market for a new website, consider the potential problem areas that might cause difficulty down the road, and be sure to do your homework before you sign the contract. You can never be too prepared!
What are some other issues you have encountered in creating or designing your website?
All Posts, Web Design
Assuming you’ve already signed and contracted your client, the stages of actually building their website can be crucial. As a fellow web designer I can tell you some of the tricks I’ve learned over the years that I now have down to a process.
1) Domain name. These days domain names are being bought up by the hour, and even the unique ones aren’t safe. A trend of using country extensions is starting to catch on. Using .us, .es, or .de to finish out a brand name actually works well when you can’t secure the actual business name.
2) Get the client show you other websites they’ve seen and liked. Why? Because they will secretly compare your work to that of which they already like from either their competitors or what they’ve found through searching online. With that, you’ll also find some inspiration for your own design too.
3) Paper and a pencil. Yes you heard right. Before you launch Dreamweaver, or Photoshop, get out your trusty sketchpad and draw out the framework for the site. Start with the home page. Add your banner, your columns, navigation pane, footer, logo and key image locations. Then draw up the next few pages the same way. This will save you so much time and offer you ways to visualize before you even start coding or working up the site structure on your computer. If possible, also play with some color paletting ideas too.
4) Start bringing the site to life. With having your layout or wireframing done, this next step should be a breeze to put everything together. If you happen to need content from the client, this is the time to secure that. If they’re not ready to provide it (which is also common), Google for for Lorem Ipsum filler. It may throw your client for a loop when they see it, but it will also stress how much content you actually need to fill the page to suit.
5) Get another opinion on your work. If you’re just starting out, its a good idea to build a network of other more knowledged designers to learn from and also to have them critique your work. They’ll give you sound and sometimes crucial advice that you may not have noticed yourself. This may also save you from your client bringing up costly concerns while adding new requirements that were never in the original scope of work. Remember you want to work smart not hard and you never want to have to redo something completely over.
Web Design
Every common website, whether it be a business owner, freelancer, writer, blogger, or non-profit has “space” on their website. And by “space” I mean those blank zones on various pages of a website with no content. These areas are ideal for affiliate links, banners, ads, newsletter sign-ups, and more. Why is this important for you? It is important because these types on content can help generate more traffic to your site while also improving your site’s SEO (search engine optimization) for better ranking.
Take our site for example. We have affiliate links on most of our pages with other businesses both local and abroad. There is a method to which links, ads, or banners we promote on our site. You never want to litter your lawn with junk mail or trash, and the same theory goes for your website.
I won’t say that it is easy to make a lot of money selling ad space, or easy to get ads from major named brands; but that would be a nice goal. If you’re just starting out, you may want to consider selling space to local businesses or existing clients you already have or know. This is a great way to build more traffic for each site with reciprocated links. When applying for CPC (cost per click) or CPM (cost per impression) programs be sure to fully understand the fine print and what you’re getting into. Google Adsense is a great start for newbies and after you reach the $100.00 threshold you are eligible for a check.
You also can just get creative with your extra space in various other ways like using search boxes, recent client images, award pictures and such. The one thing you want to try and do is be consistent with your ads and links. Like the text in each of your pages that describes the services or products your provide; your ads and links should be somewhat similar to your line of work or industry.
