Thursday, July 28, 2011

What are the Basics of Business Web Design?

Designing a website for a business is very different to designing a personal website. There are a lot of factors to consider when contemplating business web design but here we will just be covering the basics.
1)    Using the principles of business web design to establish your corporate presence online – your website is out there as a representative of your brand all day, every day and, as a result, should always portray your company in the best possible light. Treat your site as you would any other representative – make sure it is “dressed” professionally, handles queries competently and always says the right things.

2)    Generally speaking, a business web design is about more than just enabling you to generate new business leads and this is true whether you use the site as a sales portal or not. If you do decide to use it as an ecommerce site, you need to ensure that the site showcases your products well, has adequate descriptions of products and that it is always up to date in terms of price. You also need to ensure that all the sales enabling links, such as the shopping cart and checkout, are working properly. Ensure that sales made via the internet are processed timeously and efficiently.

3)    Use the internet to entice clients to buy by offering them special deals or rewarding them for good behaviour such as referring their friends. Client reward programmes are an increasingly popular marketing tool.
4)    Strategize – You cannot just get the website going and hope for the best - you need to create a web strategy and put it into place to ensure that your goals are met. You will need to review this strategy from time to time. 
5)    To get business web design correct, it has to be done professionally – A good web designer will be able to advise you on all elements of design from branding to link lists. They can help you to optimize your logo and web colours for the internet and can make your website spark.

6)    Partner with the right people – you need a web developer that can help you with an overall web strategy. They need to be able to assist you to implement email marketing programs, advise you on search engine optimization and implement search engine optimization programs. You need to partner with a company that can provide excellent web development skills.

Business website design may seem tiresome as it is an on-going process that requires regular reviews and tweaks to ensure that you are making the most of it. In the end though, it is the company that pays attention to these details that has a successful website. 

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Top 5 Independent Design Companies

All around the internet there are companies that provide services in the area of web design. Many of these companies are well equipped to successfully enact any level of work required by an employer; However, the larger the company, the less face time one can expect from their workers. With large workloads comes large responsibilities and quite often-continual decompartmentalization of jobs. When a company wants a more personal connection with the best web design company available, they ought to seek out independent design companies. These companies can often provide equal services to larger incorporated companies while simultaneously giving the employer the desired time and consideration that is often required to create custom sites and online communities.

Miller and Stanford (www.millerstanford.com) is an independent web design company whose portfolio involves some of the most visually pleasing portfolio projects one can find. There work is often XHTML and CSS-based and their pages are easy to navigate and seamlessly put together to create a pleasing experience when visited.

McElhinney Design (http://www.mcelhinneydesign.com) is an independent contractor who has yet another pleasing creative streak and provides pleasant and efficiently simplistic designs to the portfolioed websites. While the designs tend to be a bit more generic than those of others like Miller and Stanford. However, what the sites lack in glitz, it makes up for in pointed and worthwhile navigation.

Dave’s Webs (www.davidswebs.com/) is a fantastic example that the best web design company may not necessarily be the biggest company you can find. The company's homepage boasts custom designs a quality flash applications and the portfolio helps back the claim. Dave’s Webs also boasts an impressively large portfolio given their emphasis on being a small independent web design company.

NearFrog.com (nearfrog.com) is a site, which has an emphasis on efficient and aesthetically pleasing websites. The company utilizes sleek color schemes and buttons to create sites that are capable of soothing and enticing just about any customer that makes their way to the site. In addition, with NearFrog’s emphasis on SEO work, a company can bet on quality traffic through its site.

Finally, Web Design by Knight (www.webdesignbyknight.com) may be the best web design company for those who look for independent design companies. With thirteen years experience, which is shown in their portfolio and their homepage, there is little concern that the company can get their work done.

Regardless of which company one chooses for their projects, it is the case that some of the best web design company can be found outside of the larger companies.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Going Professional: What Web Development Firms Look For In a Client

Web development is a hot commodity right now. Thousands of sites being put up every year, each in competition with the others for consistent traffic. Due to this trend in need, it is a seller’s market and a professional web development firm can be difficult to entice to your business, especially if you are just starting out. However, there are some steps you can take to give yourself the best opportunity to gain a web development firm that is of the utmost professionalism.

First, make a clear mission statement and project outline. With so many people vying for the firm’s capabilities, the ones that will be removed from the pile first are those that are unclear or disorganized. To give yourself the best opportunity it is important that you pander to the need for efficacy. Do not just simply write down your project outline either, attempt to speak it out loud, then in the event of a phone or face-to-face conversation you have a practiced delivery for you work. Having such ability give the company confidence that working with you will be as professional as they require.

Asking as many questions as possible is a worthwhile endeavor as well. This should be done only after you have your foot in the door with a proper project outline. You can ask the web development firm how they intend to complete the work, how they will deal with specific situations, or what they will do if certain complications arise. Asking these types of questions shows the web development firm that you are someone that thinks ahead. Every professional knows that all professionals are those who think at least two steps ahead.

Being very clear with what you expect from a web development firm is important. You must let them know what you expect in regard to work ethic, milestones and so forth. You must remember at all times that you must treat a professional web development firm that you are the boss, the employer and that they are the contractors, the workers. If you do not show authority then there is no way to know if the web development firm can take you seriously. Professionals want strong and willing leaders and you must be able to show as much.

Finally, explaining in precise terms the amount of money you are willing to pay (within a range) helps any web development firm know exactly what they can do for you in terms of budget. A good firm can tell you both what they provide for the lowest and highest amounts within your range. With these steps, you should be capable of netting a fine firm.

Visit Webvitalize for more information on web application developers

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Business Web Design: Is It Really Profitable?

Long gone are the days where a business must rely on television, radio, and print are the major forms of business design. Today’s business is intrinsically linked to the internet and one of the most profitable areas of employ is the world of web design, specifically in the business section. Since every company wants to disseminate their material to as many people as possible, and expose themselves to the highest volume of possible customers, business web design is a gigantic market that can be entered into by anyone with the practical understanding and knowhow. There is so much money to go around as the need is so very high for business web design that with the proper skills and work ethic anyone can make money off of developing and designing web pages.

To be profitable in a business web design endeavor one must understand what it is that businesses are looking for. Most companies rely on easy-to-navigate web pages and slick presentation. Understanding how best to promote a company’s products or services is also key to any business web design contractor or company. Having a creative will help anyone become profitable with business web design. Many times companies will have a concept of how they would like to be presented but do not understand the tricks of the trade to optimize customer flow or gain repeat customers. A quality designer will be able to help them achieve these types of customers, and with said skill, the designer insures a steady form of income.

Being malleable with one’s skills and promoting quality designs and networking can also help a business web design contractor or company stay profitable. Helping the companies find affiliate programs, non-intrusive ad campaigns to sign up with and promote on your site, and using proper SEO can optimize any business and thus any employed business web design company.

The key to business web design is not simply being able to run your business; it is also important understanding how others need to run theirs. The world of business web design is a supplementary industry. In other words, the profit of others directly correlates to the profit of the web designer. Working hard to achieve the employer’s goals and going above and beyond work expectations helps the designer gain consistent clientele and thus money flow.
See more information on busuness web development at Webvitalize

Monday, July 4, 2011

Important Qualities That A Web Developer Should Possess

A good employee or contractor is key to success for any business owner and there is no acceptation for those who need to develop their own web sites or online site network. One of the most crucial factors for online business and projects is a strong web developer who possesses the proper skills and requirements to produce a quality project with both efficacy and professionalism. Without such a developer often, projects are doomed to languish with consistently trite navigation and mired in poor displays and broken links and media. So what are the good qualities that a web developer should possess?

First, one must find a web developer who is able to specify what they can do and be clear about what they cannot do. Many designers and developers will simply boast of their accomplishments but a truly good web developer will be able to specify what it is they are not qualified to do. This lets you know that they are trust worthy and capable of knowing their own limitations. Remember that when a person specifies that they do not know how to accomplish something, that does not mean they could not learn it through the process of your project. Do not be afraid to ask them whether or not they think they can add the skill to their talent list during the course of your work.

Second, a web developer must have a strong work ethics. It is best to request the candidate supply you with a resume including references and portfolio projects he/she has completed. If they do not supply their own direct reference then it is best to contact the owner of the supplied previous projects and ask the owners about the web developer.

The ability to take orders when necessary and simultaneously be self-motivated and propelled throughout a project is of utmost importance for a web developer. One must be able to take orders when required but also must be self-motivated and make decisions when necessary. A good web developer will ask for specification on how often they should take matters into their own hands and when they should request specific instructions.

Following these three major qualities can aid you in locating a quality web developer and put you on the path to completing a quality project.

See more information on web application developers