I recently came across an article that discussed how customers placed more importance on certain parts of a company’s web page than others. It was also revealed that people are increasingly placing focus upon the actual look of website and the layout used. The aesthetics of a page, along with the loading times and content features, are more important now as they ever have been.
If your customers believe you have a good looking website they will usually be more willing to delve deeper and look more closely at the content. It means that more eyes will be on the services you’re offering people. Remember, in business first impressions are everything, even in the online world.
Sub-par looking websites can create a whole host of problems for a business; including customers not giving the content you have on there the attention it warrants. In some instances people may even close your webpage without even giving it a second glace, this is especially true for those dealing in ecommerce. I have even been witness to individuals closing a page because they simply “didn’t like” what they saw, not even exploring the page to see if the sites appearance improves.
Web design should always be a high priority should you wish to present a visually pleasing and professional image, so don’t take the appearance of your website lightly.
To Blog, or Not to Blog?
Blogging may not be new, but in recent years it has certainly entered a boom period, as more and more people choose it as their chosen form of reading material. In fact many are now using blogs as a way to garner opinions on products and whether or not they should buy them. It doesn’t matter what products or services you are selling, you should have an onsite blog that is both relevant and u...
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...ckly. On top of this you should always prioritise content, making sure that it is of high quality and of value to readers, this will lead to readers linking to the blog via other websites. Targeting those within the same niche will heighten the chances of backlinks being created, with Google placing higher value upon websites that have been linked on similar websites in the field. Simply put, targeted marketing with regards to your blog will help increase potential customers reaching your website.
It may seem more cost effective to opt for a free blog such as one from WordPress or Blogspot, however using those can nullify how visible your blog actually is. Whenever possible use a web address that is more SEO friendly and try to host the blog on your actual website. Doing so gives an image of increased authority and can offer increased benefits when it comes to SEO.
Making a website credible involves a lot of factors some of the major ones includes website design, content and organization of information within the website itself. Credible website plays an important role in the communication and success of the owners of the websites. Since the web is been bombarded with a lot of information on daily basis lately we have been seeing website displaying low quality, disorganized and misleading information. Credibility can be defined as the trustworthiness of the users or consumers. Credible information leads to loyal consumers and effective name branding on the web. Design can be considered as a big umbrella which cover all the aspect of look and feel of the website like layout, sequencing, navigation and
Web sites are just like magazines, newspapers, brochures, menus, or even directions on how to make nitroglycerin from house-hold goods, in that they all have to be put together in such a manner that whoever is reading or browsing over it will be able to clearly distinguish this from that. In this sense, a critique of any particular web site will have justification, while carefully considering also that this is an altogether new medium of information exchange. Now, all of this talk of togetherness is actually a general reference to basic design principles, such as color coordination, if color is used, text size, font choice/ style, art integration, accessibility, and just plain and simple design of the page. For example, it wouldn't be all that appealing to the eyeball if a page being viewed had all the text jumbled up in a corner, so small your eyes were bleeding by the time you figured out that it wasn't even worth the trouble. Darn. It's important to rememeber, especially these days, that what you read is as important as how it looks. Have you ever tried reading an interview in a Raygun magazine? Kinda hard, right? Design totally for its own sake is nice, as art that is, and admittedly it looks cool. However, it's two in the morning and you're standing in line at the corner 7-11 trying to pay for your 40 ounce bottle of Kool-Aid, and you happen to see that your favorite MTV Pearl Crap-clone band is on the cover of this hip magazine and you go to read it, but you can't. It's not because to you failed elementary school three times in two years, but because the maestro in charge decided to get fancy with it and thought it'd be cool if he hid the text under a black box or likewise photograph. I like to loo...
One such example is the colors displayed on the homepage which are used to draw attention to key pictures of children in need and words such as, “Please Donate!” The different colored tabs help the user to navigate easier on the website by clearly showing what each new page contains in bright easy to follow letters. The different sections are clear and lead exactly where you would expect them to. On the home page Facebook contact and donation information are displayed so they can easily be found. On many pages besides the front, children in desperate need of help are shown causing empathetic feelings in the reader.
Blogging can be defined as the process of creating, maintaining, and updating a web journal (web log) and the consequences of the process. It involves reading, writing, more reading, commenting, and other technical aspects of maintaining a blog. Individuals blog for several reasons. One of the most popular reasons is to easily publish and get readers for the his/her writings. There is no pestering editor, and there is no screening process. Anything (s)he needs to convey can be published into the blogosphere with the click of a button, and could reach out to millions of readers. A few other people say that they blog because they "just love to blog/write".
Suggestion: I would include a navigation bar on the first page to direct viewers to a gallery, blog, events, contact, an about page, etc. Only a few pictures if necessary for the first page.
There are five different criteria that should always be met when it comes to evaluating a website. These criteria’s include accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency, and coverage (“Criteria Used in Evaluating Web Resources”, 2014). Accuracy is deciphering who is hosting the website, if the website has stated the purpose and audience, and if the information on the site is reliable. A good way to check if the information can be trusted is to compare the facts found on the website with other information and facts found from other internet or print sources. Authority is verifying that the author of the website is real, because if the author is real then the information can usually be trusted as well (“Criteria Used in Evaluating Web Resources”, 2014). To check the authority of a site, the page should be examined for information about the author, note if anyone else has contributed to the website, check for contact information, and see if the author has created other websites with factual information. It is a good sign if there is contact information for the author, because it means someone is taking credit for the information on the page (“Criteria Used in Evaluating Web Resources”, 2014). If someone is taking credit, there is a better chance that the information can be trusted because the author would not want a bad reputation and to be held accountable for sharing false information. The objectivity of a website is deciding if the website is trying to sway the reader’s opinion, and if it is biased. If the advertisements on the site are being supplied by the author of the site, then there is a good chance the page is biased. There should be no bias or opinion located on a site that is supposed to supply factual information (“Criter...
How I use blogs? When one blogs, one shares trends which can become of situational awareness to others. For example, in 2012 in the Army Live blog, Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell, then Commander of United States Army North - Fifth Army posted his thought about the inevitable change of the Army organizational culture, “there’s a powerful new technology to help us tell our Army story: social media. ”1 He mentioned Facebook, Twitter and Youtube as tools to tell the world the Army story.
Steyn, P., Salehi-Sangari, E., Pitt, L. and Berthon, P., (2010). The SocialMedia Release as a Public Relations Tool: Intentions to Use Among B2B Bloggers. Public Relations Review, 36(1), pp.87-89.
Next is in terms of the design and aesthetics. Layout that being used for this website is a plain white which easier people to read the text that is in black, in contrast and suitable for the concept of showroom online. The font is also suits which is not too big and not too small to be read by people. To highlight the main subject or the main product, the font is being bold to alert customers that they choose the right one. There is no audio available for this website or even a video. But somehow, as it was a home furnishing website, most of the pictures being used by the website is in JPEG format to deliver a clear view of the products to customers.
The design of the Web site is very bright and appealing to the eye. Its layout is inviting and easy to navigate. Its design is consistent through all pages. There are many graphics including, photographs, illustrations, and animated buttons and GIFs. These graphics are placed in an orderly fashion and do not create a cluttered appearance. The site has its own search engine which assists in navigating throughout the site.
Well, you want to be a resource for your clients and potential clients. Providing your readers and followers with valuable content is a great way to establish a relationship with them and set your brand up as an expert resource to look to when they have questions. It allows you to communicate with your clients without always trying to sell something to them.
Having a website is a necessity nowadays, especially for people who are in business. Having a website helps promote your company’s services, for consumers to view and research your products easily, and also because internet is universal, people worldwide could purchase your products. Aside from business purposes, a website could also be built for personal use. If you’re into blogging, you can have your own site to express everything you want or feel; a website could also be used to inform people. Due to technology’s fast evolution, creating a website is now a very simple task even for those who have no background in web designing, all you need is a working computer and an internet connection and you’re ready to create your very own site!
You may be one of them who own one or more business, but do not have a website for them. It is perhaps because you have not yet realized the importance of having a website for your business. Before knowing the importance of having a website, you must understand what a website is. In simple words, a website is a domain which contains one or multiple webpages that can be accessed through internet. This is the digital era, and everything is connected to internet nowadays.
Blogs are a form of new media. The ability for bloggers to post any sort of text photos or even videos to other internet users that could interact have become popular.
Next, you have to develop the layout of the web page. You should draw some simple sketches to display the basic “look and feel” of the web page. The use of a specific theme or template should be used to maintain the same basic look throughout the web site. Keep the reader of the web site in mind when designing the web site. Most readers will not usually wait on large graphic files to load, especially on the home page.