Designing a web site
Published November 20, 2009 | 
As the very name suggests, the primary importance of web designing lies in the area of creating and designing web sites. On the surface, one may say that web designing is not just comparable but also quite similar to the conventional notion of publishing print materials, of course on a gross level. To be precise, one can argue that each and every website, just as in the case of a book is nothing but an information exhibit container while the set of web pages can be compared to the idea of the pages found in a book.
On the other hand, web design as a technique makes use of a structure which is based on the concept of digital code as well as display technology to build and preserve an environment so as to facilitate the distribution of information in diverse and multiple formats. If considered on the level of its entire extent or prospective, the notion of web design can be described undoubtedly as among the most refined as well as progressively more complex technique to sustain the process of communication in the contemporary world. Web design includes various sub aspects under it which have all equally important roles to play in the process of building and maintaining a web site.
On being categorized broadly, the essential designing aspects would be:-
- The content – Dealing in web sites is equivalent to dealing in a business where information is capital, product and profit al rolled in to one. Thus it almost goes without saying that content displayed on the site must be of highest quality in terms of it accuracy, precision as well as relevance. The matter, and data displayed has to be pertinent to the idea of the site and must be able to aim the area of the mass which the site is generally concerned with.
- The usability – The uniqueness of the web as a medium lies in the fact that one is able to carry out absolute one to one communication on this platform without any third party mediation. Hence, it has become almost a thumb rule for the site in order to be successful that it should be user-friendly in all possible sense of the term, complete with a perfect interface as well as navigation facilities which are both easy and dependable.
- The appearance – It is a market driven and consumerist world that we all live in right now. Every thing in this world today is parallel to show business. Thus, needless to say that the appearance carries added importance. To begin with, both the graphics and the text ought to comprise of a solo style that will consistently flow right through, to prove uniformity. The fashion ought to be at the same time professional, attractive and pertinent.
- The visibility – This is more of a commercial aspect than aesthetic or creative. In order to make its presence felt in the market, it has to be trouble-free to locate through all the major search engines and also advertisement media on the net and elsewhere.
Ten more ways to promote your website
Published November 10, 2009 | There are many ways in which you can promote your website. A few top methods are the following:
- Get your website registered with a directory based engine like www.dmoz.org. There are many such other websites also. These list the names of websites that are registered with them. Also the sites are categorized as per their content and theme. Thus it is much easier for visitors to search for sites on a relevant topic. This is definitely a great method to publicize your web design and will get you a number of regular visitors. Also look for specialist directories in your field. These tend to drive the most targeted traffic.
- Get your website to feature on Google, etc. these are the biggies in the world of search engines. Most people resort to these particular sites when they need to search for some important information. Thus they are great way to give your websites that much needed boost.
- Give a little information about your website to each and every mail recipient of yours. This should not be very elaborate as a stranger will not be much interested in knowing the grittiest of your web design. This should be very brief and impact like the name of your site, its URL, its theme and your position in context of the website. This definitely creates an impact and at least 5 out of 10 people will definitely visit the URL when they receive your email.
- Join forums related to the content on your website. This also gives your website an added advantage. Post replies on sites like mouthshutreviews, yahoo answers, etc. these forums are also a great way to catch attention.
- Find sites which have similar content as your website. Make sure they are not your competitors. Get these sites to promote your website link. This will also give you an edge over others.
- Visit www.awardsites.com. Get to know about all the existing awards for web designs. Try and make an excellent web design so that you win some accolade. This will automatically bring in lots of publicity.
- Register with bulletin boards on the internet. These are similar to forums and newsgroups. They will give a lot of information about your website and also inform the visitors about its daily updates.
- You may also publicize your website in your blog. This is a very personalized way of getting the message across. Your employees can also do the same.
- Television is a very powerful media. Try and advertise your website in ads. Make them catchy so that people visit your website out of curiosity. Do not leave any gaps in promotion. Do each and everything possible. Only online promotion will not do the entire job.
- Lastly, word of mouth is an age old strategy that has always worked. If you have good networking skills and can afford to do a word of mouth campaign then nothing like it. It is a fabulous promotion technique.
A few promotional techniques for newly launched website
Published November 1, 2009 | Here are some important points that will help you to promote your website in the best possible way.
• Take the help of article and web directories to get a lot of traffic and backlink to your website.
• Business directories also help you fetch a lot of loyal visitors. One common mistake that all designers make is that they never think beyond yahoo in terms of directories. This is one of the biggest blunders you can make. There are many more business directories other than yahoo that are also equally popular.
• Classifieds are also a beneficial promotion method to your web design. They have a very formal and professional appeal and will give your website that professional promotion that it needs.
• Social networking today is top notch. You could consider publicizing your website on some social networking site
• There is something called a social bookmarking site. This again is very powerful. All you have to do is write a very good article about your website and submit it to a social bookmarking site. This will be uploaded by the site and will automatically attract a huge crowd.
• Make your site published on your business card. This makes a very good impression on a person receiving the card. This works wonderfully well. This is part of the word of mouth publicity technique. These are basically very old school marketing techniques. But these will never let you down. So do not hesitate to adopt these sure shot methods.
• Another novel method of promoting your site is through PPC. PPC stands for pay per click advertisements. It can cost you some money but it is worth it. It attracts a lot of users and your site will definitely gain a lot of popularity through it.
• Text link advertising is also another option worth considering. This is cheaper than pay per click method but will also bring in a good amount of traffic.
• There are other advertising options like print advertising. It can be slightly on the costlier side but is worth giving a try. You will have to advertise in very specific locations. These are very impact and can bring you the maximum traffic. Sending flyers is also a part of print advertising.
• You should also resort to portfolio websites. These sites display the portfolios of designers and artists. Thus it is an extremely ingenious method of publishing.