From the category archives:
Template customization
How do you Improve your Google Ranking?
Now that we have (haven’t we?) finally buried the myth behind custom web design vs template customization by showing you how every web designer custom or not uses some form of template regardless and that the only real difference is in the tremendous amount of money you’ll pay to have a site custom made, may be we can now move on to search engine optimization and show you how to generate some real traffic over to them pages; after all aesthetics have no real relevance in search.
In this post Dyfed Lloyd Evan gives you some real insight on tuning-up your site’s PR and explains in layman’s terms how all that works and shows you lots of other helpful hints on how to publicize your site.
For the moment, at least, it seems that Google has won the ’search engine wars’. The search behemoth now has over 78% of the search engine market cornered. This means that 78% of all searches performed on the internet are done via Google.
At the heart of Google’s strategy to delivering search results is an algorithm called ‘Page Rank‘. This is named after Larry Page, Google’s co-founder and is an attempt at measuring the popularity of a web page based, primarily, on the number and quality of links coming into a site. It is this algorithm that, ultimately, determines your site’s rankings within Google’s search results.
How Does Google Work? Over the years many website owners have tried to claim (some even doing so in court) that Google’s algorithm was somehow ‘unfairly’ keeping them from the top of the search engine results. The truth is that Google, as a private company, is not beholden to the millions of website owners who all want their sites to rank well in the search engines. Rather, Google is beholden to its stock-holders and needs to be seen as delivering value to them.
Google needs to earn profits and the company does this by selling advertising. The company has determined that the best way to deliver value for its advertisers is to have the best and most relevant websites be the ones that are easiest to find on the web. Thus Google’s revenues from advertising are tied to Google’s website ranking systems.
What’s Google’s Real relevance in Search? The question of Google’s real relevance in terms of how much search and other traffic comes to a webstie has been a vexed one. I asked this question of a number of my colleagues. We all have large websites in different domains and we pooled our information for the first 6 months of 2008 to arrive at the following figures…
Total search traffic 54.8% of which:
53.7% Google Search Traffic
40.2% Other main search engines (Yahoo!, MSN, Ask, Windows Live etc)
6.1% Other search engines (the tiny ones)
The remaining 45.2% of our traffic all came from link sources: articles, blogs, recommendations, forum posts and links from people referring our websites.
So, only just over half the web traffic comes from the search engines and almost half comes from other links! However, the good news is that the way to garner more search engine traffic and more general ‘link referral’ traffic is one and the same!
How to Rank Well As was mentioned above, Google’s ranking system works with both the number and quality of in-bound links. One of the best ways of getting these links is to write and submit articles. Many article directories have excellent page rank and lots of site visitors. This means that submitting articles and including your URLs in them are a great way of gaining more links to your site. But they’re also a wonderful, direct, way of getting traffic to your site (remember the traffic figures above).
There are, however, a few key SEO considerations to take into account when writing your articles.
Article Links and SEO One big advantage of writing articles is that you can define your own ‘anchor text‘. This is the text in the link that defines what the person looking at the link sees. It also gives the search engine spider following the link an indication of what the page it’s navigating to is all about. This is why you should never, ever, put something like ‘click here’ in your links!
You link text should be related to the subject of the page you’re linking to, as this makes it more relevant to the search engines. Now, if at all possible the text of your links should also match the key words you are targeting on your web pages as these give the keywords more relevance and will improve your rankings for them.
Also, the more competitive the keyword you are targeting the more work you will have to put into ranking for that term. Indeed, if you are just starting and a keyword is very competitive (’computer’, for example) then you may never, realistically, be able to rank for it. But if you target a keyword like ‘extreme computer construction’ you are far more likely to be ranked for that term. Be clever and don’t try and bite off more than you can chew.
Indeed, the more competitive the keyword you are targeting the more work you will have to put into ranking for that keyword. In this case it may well take you many weeks before you will notice any effects from your article writing efforts.
But for less competitive keywords you may notice a jump of several tens of positions in your rankings with as few as 3 articles. In this case, you get out what you are willing to put in.
One thing to note is that Google takes not of all the link text that comes through to your page. If you have more than 60% of the links with exactly the same text this marks-up a red flag an your rankings may well drop. As a result you should vary the link text and you also need to alter the text surrounding the links.
Given enough time and commitment you can use article marketing to elevate any single web page on your website into multiple top spots in Google’s SERP rankings. However, this does mean that you need to write and publish articles on a daily basis. Few people have that level of commitment to their websites.
About the Author
Dyfed Lloyd Evans runs the Celtnet Articles Directory where you can freely submit high quality articles. If you really want high quality back-links to your sight then you need to check out his free eCourse on How to Maximize your Web Traffic.
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How to install wordpress and plugins on your domain
In my last post I introduced you to my personal favorite blogging software, which is WordPress. Also, I showed you where you can download the latest version of WordPress, which was here http://wordpress.org/download/.
And, I explained to you about WordPress themes, and warned you that they can be great for you, then again also for your competitors’ sites that bought the same template theme that you did!
Consequently, I advised you to take full advantage of our template customization services, which start at just $380 a pop (What’s the process?). In this post Mochtar Djoko shows us how to make “blogging” for everyone, everything from installation to adding a plugin etc…
Blogs and blogging are huge topics nowadays. No matter what’s your status or age, people from all over the world are blogging. Housewives, businessman, teenager and even grandmas are blogging. For all those who dont know, a blog is simply a web log or an online journal. Some people are just blogging about their lives or hobbies, but some others are using it as a marketing device or for business purpose.
To start blogging you can go to http://www.blogger.com or http://www.wordpress.com for a more popular ones. Now, I received a lot of emails asking on how to install wordpress or activate plugins on your domain. Don’t worry, once you read this article, you will be able to not only install wordpress, but you will be able to start experimenting on the plugins you have.
First, you need to go to your cpanel menus on your website. For example, if your website is http://www.rudythegreat.com, then you can access the cpanel menus by typing this on your web browser ‘http://www.rudythegreat.com/cpanel’. Once you login, you need to go look for fantastico icon on the menu. Click on it. Then select wordpress and simply clik install. It will ask you some basic information and install wordpress for you.
What if you dont have a hosting account or your hosting account does not have fantastico. This is my recommendation. Go to http://www.wordpress.org and download the files to your computer. Then what you need to do is outsource the installation to somebody else. You can get someone to install the wordpress for only $20. Usually a programmer only needs 10 - 15 minutes to install it. For outsourcing, you can try http://www.rentacoder.com
Next, you might want to install some plugins into your wordpress to optimize your pages for search engine optimization purposes. To search for a free wordpress plugins, you can try http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/.
After you find, download and extract your plugins, open up a ftp program or download a free ftp program Filezilla (http://filezilla.sourceforge.net/). Open up your ftp program, and put your website address on the address box, then fill in the username and password. Then click on quick connect. Once you are connected, double click on www -> wp-content-> plugins.
Simply upload your plugins into his remote site. Next, you will need to login into your wordpress account, then go to plugins link. Over here, you can click on ‘activate’ for any plugins you see fit. Simply click on the name of the plugin, it will send you to the author’s website. You can look for guides over there. Every plugins will have different installation guide. Some are easy and some others are harder.
A few plugin that I recommend are: SEO Title Tag, Sociable, Social Auto Poster, Google Sitemap, Related Post, and feedburner. Search for these plugins on google, and try to download and activate it.
About the Author
Mochtar Djoko has been making money through the internet for the past five years. He specializes in selling on ebay and doing internet marketing. You can learn more about selling on ebay and internet marketing on http://www.mochtardjoko.com
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Custom Web Design or Template Customization Which is Better?
Is it true that website templates are indeed inherently deficient? - If such reasoning were true, however, why would website template usages continue to be such a reliable resource for the entire web design industry itself?
The truth is, used properly, in union with professional template customization, website templates can provide you with a unique and high quality design at just a fraction of the cost of hiring someone else to do a custom design starting from scratch.
In fact, whether they advertise it or not every web designer custom or not uses some form of website template. Just as a wise contractor makes good use of a blueprint to guide the construction of a building to its successful completion, every web designer also uses a template or basis as his or her guide in creating a unique and well-organized web site.
What then, are some of the advantages and disadvantages of using a website template? - Two clear advantages are time and money. Typically speaking it can take many days for a good designer to create a preliminary mockup of such quality.
Also, consider the time necessary to piece the original design into slices and the actual rendering of the design onto HTML and resources spent validating that code on all major browsers. The cost of which will most certainly be passed onto you, the client.
On the contrary, however, every website template is like an almost finished web page that has been preliminary designed, sliced and pull together with all the graphics and necessary coding so as to help you put your website online without difficulty and in no time.
Just what are you getting at here? - With that in mind, I’m implying that since we don’t start from scratch but build on pre-made website templates, we are faster and way less expensive than hiring a regular web design studio.
What’s more, many of our prospective clients are amazed when we show them how they can have professional template customization on anyone of our website templates custom-made to the specific needs and goals of their business for only $380.
How is that possible? - This is possible because, we only use website templates from the world’s leading providers and every template we customize comes already built and thoroughly tested by a professional web designer, as apposed to hiring some web design studio who’s in-house talent (or lack thereof) is full of print designers who’ve moved over or full of programmers who fell into web design and are nothing more than a bunch of hobbyists.
You wouldn’t want a designer who’s passionate about PHP? You can get a PHP developer. You want a designer who’s passionate about design. You don’t want to be haggling neither, no, not if you could see beforehand what it is you are buying and know exactly how much it’ll cost you.
Consequently, since we do not develop from scratch but because every web template is made by a professional that understand layout, white space, typography and the like; this enables us to pass that savings onto “you”, the client.
In addition, you don’t need any special skills you simply choose a template hop over to the contact form and give us some general information (e.g. some suggested color schemes, colors to avoid, styles or websites that you likes etc.). Then at your convenience we can contact you to review your projects objective and tell you more about the process.
Is it true however, that website templates are indeed resold? - Ok, yes, our web templates can be sold repeatedly to different customers, however, we thoroughly track and show you the total number of times a particular template is downloaded and we make every effort to ensure that the total number of downloads never exceeds five.
In addition, there are now over 3,000,000,000 webpages online according to statistics on www.google.com so there is a very little chance that you will ever find the same design twice.
But, be that as it may, template customization is the only sure-ways to have a website that is both affordable and unique. Template customization allow you change the templates color scheme, insert texts, substitute graphics, logo, titles, Meta tags etcetera, etcetera…
The result is a unique product that works intuitively to help your customers identify your brand, which in turn is what truly defines branding in the classic sense of the term meaning to establish a unique identity. And that shouldn’t have to cost a fortune.
So does the use of web templates present an insurmountable obstacles or irremediable technical issue, or can web templates, along with template customization, provide you with a unique and high quality design? I’m sure you’ll agree with the latter.
Can I see some template customization examples? - Thought you’d never ask! We encourage you to take a moment of your time to see our template customization portfolio this will really help you see some neat ideas and creative solutions we bring to the templates we customize.
Should you wish to acquire more information about our template customization services simply jump on over to the contact form and tell us what you think.
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Essential Web 2.0 Skills
Secondly we talked about the decentralized web and making sure your content gets the visibility it deserves through RSS (Really Simple Syndication) which lets you tap into a wealth of opportunity by offering your readers the ability to subscribe to your feed and receive regularly updated content automatically.
In addition I said your site had to be search engine and users friendly. Search engine and users friendly is as much a step back as a step forward; it means returning to the earliest ethics of the web while adhering to a few basic principles.
For example, the navigation should be easily decipherable establishing an easy to follow hierarchical layout. Meaning that there has to be a specific order of precedence among each individual element. Consequently that same order must be constant following that same pattern through every page.
Also we talked about what in my opinion, is the most important aspects of Web 2.0 and that is interactivity and collaboration. Why? Because nobody likes to be on the receiving end of a one-way conversation, good communication is a two way street. Similarly whether you are an internet entrepreneur selling a product, a small business owner providing a service or just a publisher of information you want to be sure to get your point across.
The best way to get your point across is by getting to know your audience. How? By providing some interaction or means of communication in other words, open a dialog. Consequently this type of feedback is invaluable in determining not so much what you want to say but rather, what your audience wants to hear. And hence enabling you to better market your brand and make the right decisions concerning your business.
Now that we’ve talked about some of the fundamental features of Web 2.0 let’s talk a little bit about how you can create or implement your very own web 2.0 ready site. One way to add all of the Web 2.0 elements I just mentioned instantly is to use a blogging platform to run your site.
Generally speaking, a blog is just a website usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or whatever the case may be. Moreover if you have been surfing the Internet for any length of time, then chances are you’ve read many blog posts whether you realize it or not. Even if you don’t think of your site as a blog, or maybe you just don’t feel your brand constitutes the bases for a blog or doesn’t fall under that heading; think of it as a Content Management System.
My personal favorite blogging platform or blogging software is WordPress. WordPress is both free and priceless all at the same time and you can download the latest version of WordPress (Version 2.5.1) right here http://wordpress.org/download/
Basically WordPress is what my site is run off of, likewise it is what I recommend my customers to use whenever they want a website that is search engine friendly, easy to use, interactive and relatively simple to customize.
The reason why is WordPress has a very easy to use administrative back-end that allows you update your site regularly; you just login and its almost like sending an email or using Microsoft Word you just hit publish and whoomp there it is! As apposed to having to learn some programming language or worse having to hire a web master again, and again even for the smallest modification.
Typically, WordPress is organized in reverse chronological order - that is, the newest, freshest content is presented first. Similarly all the content is linked and fitly joined together with a unique web address so that people can bookmark or link to any page and so the search engine can easily index each individual page.
In addition WordPress is instantly interactive because at the bottom of every post there is a comment box where people can talk to you and you can reply back to them and that opens up that line of communication or medium that as I’ve already mentioned it’s so important for getting that feedback.
Besides that, every time you add a post WordPress automatically notifies all of major directories (see Technorati, Bloglines, or any other feed-based aggregator) or at least most of them, likewise WordPress also automatically notifies anybody that is coming to you via their preferred feed aggregator.
So there you have it, all of the characteristics of Web 2.0 I just talked about and many more are made available by using WordPress and best of all its totally free. The last thing I want to mention also is to do with customizing your WordPress template commonly know as themes.
A huge factor weighing heavily on whether or not people who visits your site will remain there for any reasonable amount of time, or whether or not they may decide to make other return visits to your site depends upon the esthetic characteristics of your design or over all look and feel of the site.
To clarify this concept further, think of this comparison. Generally speaking, a person who wears clothes that fit properly, are clean and wrinkle free is said to be a well-dressed individual. Moreover their appearance may make us feel or act more comfortable or amicable towards then some might even see this as a clear indication of someone who is apt to be more fun to hang around with. Similarly, a website that has a neat and friendly surrounding environment will be more likely to retain its visitor.
WordPress templates
A WordPress template theme is a skin (theme or template) for this popular blogging platform – if you are not already a professional web designer I suggest you invest a little money on one of these. The cool thing about WordPress templates is that a professional web designer using the latest technology designs them.
In other words, as you can see here, people who have a real passion for and really understand typography, white space, layout things like that do all of the labor; skills you could only wish to achieve after years of practice as a graphic designer and or developer.
Be that as it may, don’t be misled – Yes WordPress templates are great for your site, nonetheless also for your competitors’ sites that bought the same template you did! On that note, I entreat you to consider the benefits of having professional template customization.
Our template customization are only $380 a pop, and they’ll allow you change the templates color scheme, font style, add your own logo and if need be, we will even installing WordPress on the server for you. What is more, we will customize any theme to fit your individual business needs.
The result is a unique interactive website that works intuitively to help your customers find everything they need (read more about our template customization process).
In the upcoming months I will introduce you to WordPress plugins and show you how to install then on your blog, we’ll definitely talk about the sites new redesign, give you more tips on customizing your template and I’ll also show you ways to start monetizing your blog.
Resources:
How to Analyze, Optimize, Publicize, Monetize and Troubleshotize the Ideal Web 2.0 Site in a Nutshell.
Is Your Site Search Engine and Users Friendly?
How Can Interactivity Increase Conversions & Make You Money?
Essential Web2.0 Skills
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Template customization process Q & A
Whenever we talk to a prospective template customization client we pretty much always get asked some of the same questions such as what do I need to do next, how much for just a basic website or how long does it take?
Thus we decided to create a basic summary of answers to all of the most commonly asked questions. Nevertheless if you have any additional questions please feel free to use the comments form below and we’ll get back to you.
1. How much for just a basic website? - You can get just a basic website off of anyone of our templates for $380 that includes the following… Adding your logo, changing all links (commonly known as buttons), adding a contact form, and up to 5 whole pages of content.
2. What is the process? - Start by choosing a template. Once your selection is made, contact us with some
general information (e.g. some suggested color schemes, colors to avoid, styles or websites that you likes,). Then at your convenience we can contact you to review your projects objective, answer your pre-sales questions, and provides you with a customization quote.
3. What if I didn’t by my template here do you work on other people’s templates? - Yeah, duh! We can customize any template weather it be ours or not. In addition template customization is always delivered on time and we make sure that you have the most standards compliant web sites possible.
4. Can I see some examples of the sites you’ve done? - Absolutely! We encourage you to take a moment of your time to look through some of our template customization samples this will really help you see some neat ideas and creative solutions we bring to the templates we customize.
5. Do I have to pay before or after the work is done? - Since our company is offering non-tangible irrevocable goods a 50% deposit is required on all work orders over $1000. On work orders below $1000 full payment is due upon agreement. We only make exceptions with this rule on a case-by-case basis in agreement of the parties concerned. The price for the order will include the template price along with customization.
6. How do I pay for services? - Currently we are able to accept Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Discover, PayPal Buyer Credit, Instant Transfer and eCheck through PayPal recipients email used to send money is newaccounts@foamers.net. Exceptions may be granted only to domestic customers.
7. Do you only do templates? - What shu talking about willis? The short answer is yes; ready built template customization is our primary focus. Nevertheless we do take on a number of custom design jobs every year as well as offer general site updates and maintenance services.
8. How long does it take to receive the product? - Turn-Around time is determined and submitted for your approval prior agreement of services. Notwithstanding, sense you may opt to make revisions to your original service request at any time this could also postpone the initial estimated Turn-Around time. So, on that note we strongly urge you to give all your information to your designer at once. This will avoid redundant correspondence, confusion, and multiple edits.
9. How do I learn about the status of the customization work? - Once you have placed your order, we are in constant contact with you until the end of the project. Moreover through the use of e-mail, instant messenger software, and FTP programs, to transport data from one location to another, you will be able to check current stage of your order, chat live with a project consultant and even forward personal files required for customization.
10. What if I want to change something? - No! Just kidding, of course you may. You may opt to make revisions to your original service request with up to three rounds of changes at any time during the course of the project. Notwithstanding additional alteration might postpone initial estimated Turn-Around time. On that note we strongly urge you to give all your information to your designer at once. This will avoid redundant correspondence, confusion, and multiple edits.
11. Do you ‘bundle’ your services or offer ‘un-bundled’ services? - Yes we do. Typically minor revision request made after the completion of the original customization request are considered to be new and as such would be itemized and billed individually. Notwithstanding we also offer a number of packages designed to handle customizations on up to 5 pages of content at a really terrific value. For more on that read our templates customizations page.
12. How do I contact foamers.net? - Should you wish to contact us you may do so at anytime just simply hop on over to the contact form and tell us what you think.
If you have any additional questions feel free to use the comments form below and we’ll be happy to provide you with answers and ad them to this Q&A.
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Learning Basic HTML Is Not As Difficult As You May Think
Making your own template customizations is easy we can help you by providing the tools needed in doing this through comprehensive template editing tutorials and articles such as these. Yet we are aware that running your small business is foremost in your mind.
Consequently we can help you focus on that. Our basic template customizations package is very affordable. In addition we will plan and consult with you every step of the way to determine what your website needs. Our template customizations are always delivered on time and we make sure that you have the most standards complient web sites possible. In this article we will teach you a number basic HTML rules that you may very easily apply to change or update the look and feel of anyone of these website templates.
Are you a beginner struggling to learn basic HTML? Or maybe you have a template that you want to make changes too, but you are not sure how to proceed, well this article is just for you. Many people are put off building their own website or changing templates because they think that learning HTML very difficult. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Others also believe that creating your own website means purchasing expensive software. Yes there are many different programs out there that can be used to create a website for you, but basically you can do it all for free if you are willing to spend a little time learning the basics of HTML.
All over the Internet you can find websites offering template that you can download to your computer and add your own content too. Some of these templates are better than others, but even if you do find a high quality template, you still need to know some basic HTML otherwise website will have exactly the same design as everyone else who downloaded that same template.
Like everything else in life learning basic html just requires the right information.
So many times I have been asked by visitors to my HTML for beginners website how do I make my words bold? Or how do I make my text bigger? Using simple tags before and after the text involved will do this.
Here are some more Basic HTML Tags to get you started: -
< *b>Types the text in bold.< */b> This tag will make your words appear bold.
< *i>This should be italicized.< */i> This will give your words an italic look.
< *u>Underline this text.< */u> This text will be underlined
< *hr /> This forms a horizontal line. ___________________
< *font color="######">Change color.Text here< */font> This will change the color of (1) word. This (######) should be placed with the code for the color you want to use. For example if you wanted your words to be red the signs would be replaced with #ff0000
So your code will now look like this and your text will be red < *font color="#ff0000">Change color.Text here< */font>
< *small>This should be in small.< */small> Make your text small
Combining Basic HTML Tags
Perhaps you may want to combine some of the basic HTML codes above. Lets say you want to make your text bold and italic. This is what your code will look like.
< *b>< *i>Text in bold and italic< */i>< */b>
Notice we have put both the bold tag < *b> and the italic tag < *i> together to give us our bold and italic text. These combinations can also be applied to color. If you would like to make your text underlined and green, this is how the tag should appear.
< *u>< *font color="#00ff00">Change color of 1 word.Text here< */font>< */u>
In all of the above code the * should be removed to make your code work correctly. The * is used to allow you to see the actual code but must be removed when placed on your site.
These are just some of the simple things you can do to change the look and feel of your website. To learn more why not check out some of the online basic HTML tutorials to get you started and in no time at all you will be past the basics of HTML and onto pro HTML coding.
About the Author
Basic HTML is not difficult to learn. Visit Web Monster at his brand new blog http://html-code-for-beginners.blogspot.com to learn more about basic HTML coding.
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Why Design Matters
In addition we gave you 5 already functioning examples of the ideal Web 2.0 designed site and introduced our Web 2.0 templates and how this new product category features all of these characteristics and more.
Further we entreated you to consider the convenience and practicality of obtaining professional template customization.
So why should your small business website design matter? In this article Louise Meers uncovers a number of reasons why fundamentally sound design principles like contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity are so instrumental to retaining new business.
Article: Flashing before your eyes is a fluro green background teamed with red writing, white borders, a cutesy cursor graphic and the promise of ten free CD’s. No, it’s not Christmas. It’s bad design. Let’s face it, in the day and age where people are more likely to search for your business online than pick up the Yellow Pages - design matters. But why?
The consumer will judge you
Type “badly designed websites” into Google and you will understand immediately. There are pages and pages on this subject citing some very worthy examples. A badly designed website can say a lot to the consumer about your business. Potential customers or clients may think a badly structured website means a badly structured business.
An unprofessional design could prove exactly that - the consumer may think your business is unprofessional or untrustworthy, especially if your website doesn’t exhibit clear authenticity. Consumer judgement can cost you. Not only could your website be shamed for employing bad design, but you will inevitably lose business as well.
Bad design is bad for business
Websites with bad design will lose hits. Online businesses with bad design will lose customers. Ever logged on to a website which was hard to navigate or was bad on the eyes? Chances are you closed it, frustrated because you couldn’t find what you were looking for. Now imagine how many times that website would have been closed because no one had the patience to find badly placed information or that elusive home button.
Or it could have been that the website was just a huge visual turn-off. Whatever the reason, it will not reflect highly on your business. Today’s average person doesn’t have the time or the patience to decipher his or her way through a poor layout. Most likely they will take their business elsewhere.
So how do I know if it’s good?
Good website design is intuitive - it knows where the user wants to go and allows them to get there with ease. It has accessibility for all groups. It’s inoffensive both visually and in content. But most importantly, it doesn’t get in the way of you selling your product.
Graphic designer Robin Williams says contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity are crucial to any good design:
Contrast: website content needs to be distinct and shouldn’t just blend into the background. Professionals in the design industry are very aware and able in this area, creating websites for you that will meet your criteria, as well as that of your customers.
Repetition: like store design, where you place items is extremely important. For example, if your company logo is at the top of the page, it needs to be at the top on every page. Design professionals know exactly when and where to repeat important information on your website so that it will successfully promote your business.
Alignment: every element on the page should be there for a purpose. It can be tricky to figure out what information to include and how it should appear on your website. Again, this is where the professionals can really help.
Proximity: information that is similar should be grouped together, also like store design. This is good for organisation, and for business. Professionals can design a website for you that looks great and gets you those sales with cleverly placed text, graphics and links
Without the CRAP principle (bad acronym but good theory) and other design techniques that professionals incorporate into their work, a website will sink, not swim. There is a definite art to website design and getting contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity, as well as other essential design criteria, to all work harmoniously is no easy feat.
Okay, it does matter
Design matters because it’s going to positively promote your business and help you make those all-important sales. Don’t let your website end up on webpagesthatsuck.com and don’t let it drive potential customers and clients away. Leave it to the professionals who know exactly what is good for you and your business.
About the Author
Louise Meers is a guest writer and media advisor for Bergan Blue. She comes from a journalistic background while having a strong love for the web - a perfect combination for Bergan Blue, a small creative web development firm focused on bridging the gap between the online world of the web and the traditionally offline world of marketing.
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Downloaded osCommerce, now what?
Intro: Two of our most popular products are osCommerce templates and CRE Loaded templates. Both are actually a combination of osCommerce 2.2 (ready built online store) provided by osCommerce.com and a unique template design from Foamers.net. Likewise we also offer professional osCommerce, CRE Loaded and or ZenCart templates customizations at affordable prices. In this article Tan Thomas offers as tips on how to customize your shopping cart as well as market your product.
Article: When you decide to go with osCommerce for your e-commerce site, you can simply take their stock layout and insert your information and voila! you have a completely functional e-commerce site ready for customers and sales.
If you’re like most e-commerce sites, however, you’ll want to go a step further than that and customize your “storefront” to make it better fit your product. If you are savvy in both the technical and marketing fields, this will probably be a no-brainer. If, however, you are an expert in your product, but not necessarily how to sell your product, this article is for you. It’s filled with tips to help you both design your site and well as market your product.
Design Your Site
1.Change your colors. You can go into your stylesheet.css file (in your catalog root folder) and simply change the colors from the stock layout. It’s amazing what a difference something as simple as a custom color layout can do for your website!
2.Choose a template. If you don’t want to start your website design from scratch, you can use a template that has everything you need for your site except the information.
3.Or, go even simpler. If you don’t want to change the complete template you can opt to change just one thing on the site. This could be the background, buttons or logo. Whatever you choose, just do something to make the site your own!
4. Improve your images. Spend some time learning image editing programs so that you can save your pictures in high quality with the smallest file size so that they both look great and load quickly. With the high speed of the Internet, most people don’t have the patience to wait for slow loading pictures and they may leave your site rather than waiting for the image to load completely.
5.Change the page titles. Make sure that you give each page a descriptive title so that when the page appears in the search engines it gives people enough information to get them to want to click on your link.
6.Put your self in your customer’s shoes. Customers do not like long drawn out checkouts. If you can get the information you need in two to three pages (including the confirmation of information page), your site will have an advantage over those sites that draw it out. The osCommerce forum has information on how to do this.
7. Get a design expert who is experienced with osCommerce. By installing STS Template system or some other equivalent, they can customize your shopping cart to anything. This website lists a series of osCommerce website which had gone through a serious make-over. http://www.efusiontech.com/E-Commerce-Projects.html
Market Your Product:
1.Make your site unique. This is a basic marketing technique and is sometimes referred to as creating a Unique Selling Proposition. Basically, this is a simple statement that tells people what makes your site and your business unique from other businesses, especially those in the same niche. Whether you always offer free shipping or guarantee the lowest prices, your unique selling proposition is what sets you apart from the rest.
2.Don’t forget to sell your product! Getting people to your site and getting them to stay on the site are important, but once they are there you need to SELL the product. You won’t be there to tell them about the items and they aren’t in a bricks and mortar store to examine the product themselves, so your descriptions need to do these jobs for you and the customer. Be detailed, be specific and be honest. Include who would likely enjoy the product and why they would need it. Instead of focusing on the details of the product or service, put some emphasis n the benefits.
3.Make your store more than an online entity. Give your customers a way to contact you. This includes a name, address, email and phone number. If they have no way to get into contact with you, your credibility with the customer declines.
4.Offer more than just the product or service. Don’t be afraid to add articles, tips and information related to your product for customers coming to your site. It will increase your credibility as well as give them reasons to return to your site even if they don’t have an immediate need for your product or service. Related to this is sending out a periodic newsletter that gives useful information, announces specials and sales and highlights specific products.
With just a few customizations your osCommerce store can be a unique site that fits your philosophy, product and needs. You can view samples of some oscommerce website from eFusiontech.com who has done over a hundred osCommerce implementation with customized skin and layout.
About the Author
The author is a designer working in Singapore
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Are You Making The Most of Your Home Page?
In a previous post, Is Your Site Search Engine and User Friendly, we discussed a number of ways to make your site both search engine and user friendly. Essentially the whole idea is to ensure that your site helps users find their content easily. In other words, is the content organized in an easy-to-read hierarchical layout? Are we using HTML links on every page? Moreover, do your pages contain relevant information that clearly and accurately describe your focus and is that text clear, crisp and legible? In this article we will learn how to apply that same practicality focusing primarily on the home page.
The most important part of any home page is the upper portion; the part that is viewable without having to scroll down to look at what else is included on that page. It is tempting therefore to cram everything you can into that top portion, to ensure that all the important stuff can be seen as soon as the page loads.
But this can be a big mistake. In this world of graphics, content and images, less really can be more. Our ever increasingly impatient society has an attention span which stretches to mere seconds, not long enough to scan and digest even a fraction of what many people try and cram onto their home page.
It’s advisable therefore to go back to basics and make a note of what your website is really all about. What do you want your visitors to get from it? What is the single most important message you want to get across? What would you like your visitors to do? Sign up for a free newsletter? Click through to other pages on your site?
Whatever actions you would like your visitors to perform, you need to make sure they are visible and accessible on that first screen. Don’t overcrowd your home page; instead, make sure you have a nice clear and clean border around that sign up box you have for people to fill in and join your email list. It will stand out more and get a better response if you do.
When you are planning or redesigning your home page, think about adding smaller blocks of easily readable content, rather than adding a long article that would be better saved for another section of your site. Don’t overwhelm people as soon as they arrive, let your home page point towards other areas of interest, while remaining clear and simple to understand itself.
Creating a good home page that converts visitors into sign ups and encourages them to explore the site in more depth takes time and experimentation. It is certainly an ongoing process, but each improvement you make will have a direct bearing on how well the site performs as a whole , so it’s worth persevering.
About the Author
Pro Wordpress Themes is a collection of high-quality, professional Wordpress themes designed by world-class graphic artists and made available to download free of charge. To download a free Wordpress theme please visit Free Website Templates.
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Fixed Width Vs Liquid Layouts
Intro: In the last article “Top 5 Design Principles Behind Web 2.0 Templates” I talked to you a little about Web 2.0 templates and how one of the characteristics of Web 2.0 are central layouts. In this article we discuss the pros and cons between liquid layouts vs fixed width commonly know as central layouts. The author Moe Tamani explains what both design layout really mean and examines the best approach for you to use on your website.
As every experienced web designer should know, there are two types of layout that you can choose from when designing web pages. One is the fixed width layout and the other is the liquid layout. The fixed width layout sets the width of the web page at a specific value, no matter how wide the viewer’s internet browser window is, whereas liquid layouts adjust their width depending on the width of the visitor’s browser window. The choice between these two layouts is not always an easy one and we will explore in depth the factors that will influence your final decision.
Fixed width layouts mean that you have a preset width which you will design the rest of your web page around. The main advantage of this approach is that it gives you greater direction and control over the eventual organization of your web page. Fixed width layouts are best used with print backgrounds, because these help maintain a consistent appearance even across different internet browsers and operating systems. In a liquid layout, however, the overall layout of your page is a percentage function of the size of the browser window being used to view it. They are useful for maximizing the use of space provided by any screen resolution or browser window size. Web designers who are tasked with conveying as much information as possible in a limited amount of space will often choose a liquid layout. It is important to both you and your web design company that you understand which layout would suit the needs of your client better.
Which layout you eventually choose will greatly affect the final look and feel of your web site, not to mention the functionality of the site. The ease with which visitor’s can scan through your site for relevant information and identify the content that they wish to find is largely dependant on your choice of layouts. It is thus absolutely essential that you understand the needs of your client and the kind of website that they want you to build in order to design a web site that reinforces the marketing strategies of your client. Your web design company is also likely to stress the importance of choosing the right layout when you take on any projects.
The Web Design Benefits and the Drawbacks The pros and cons of each layout type are listed below, so you will be able to make a better-informed decision regarding which type of layout you should use for a particular project.
Fixed Width Layout o Pros * Pages that you design look exactly the same when viewed using any internet browser or operating system. * Images and other non-textual objects will not overwhelm the textual content of the page, regardless of the size of the browser window or viewing monitor. * The scan length of your pages stays constant no matter how wide the viewer’s browser window is. o Cons * Viewers using smaller browser windows or monitors to view the site will probably have to scroll horizontally to see the entirety of the page. This tends to annoy online visitors. * A large amount of whitespace is usually generated when viewers use large browser windows to view the site, resulting in wastage of otherwise useful space. Also, more vertical scrolling may be required than should be necessary. * Font size changes can adversely affect the overall layout of the page. Large increases in font size can cause the layout of your page to become distorted, making it messy and unappealing.
Liquid Width Layouts o Pros * Layout adjusts its size to fit any browser window size. * All the available space in the browser window is utilized, enabling larger windows to display more information while not compromising the viewing experience using smaller window sizes. * You can achieve consistent relative widths, ensuring that your web page can accommodate your client’s varied design requirements such as font size changes. o Cons * Liquid layouts do not allow you to fix the width of the page and other elements on the page, making proper organization difficult in some situations. * Columns containing text may become either too wide or too narrow for comfortable viewing of the text. * Fixed width elements on the page may not be correctly displayed. Some browsers may attempt to correct for a lack of space for fixed width elements by increasing the width of the element, thus disrupting the order of the other elements in your layout.
Often, the best approach to use is to use both types of layout within the same web site or even within the same page. The type of layout you use may be dependent on which part of the site you are currently working on. A good example is fixing the width of the central column of the page so that text contained does not become distorted while allowing the layout for the rest of the page to be liquid, making viewing of side-bars and other elements more flexible. With practice and diligence, you will eventually learn the best combination of both layouts to use in any situation that you encounter.
About the Author
Moe Tamani is a SEO web design consultant Dallas Web Design.
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