Zig Web Design
Web development and design encompasses the style direction of a site. The designer usually produces template of mock-up design and layout; which will suit the homepage of a given website and also the layout of the various pages. That will be included on the website. The most important aspect of web design is the visual component which will look attractive in the eyes of a visitor. This will induce one to continue browsing the website for more information. Therefore it is important for designer to choose the best presentation; which will be unique and attractive to the visitors.
The graphics to be used as well as the toolbars, styles, fonts, background styles, multimedia etc. should try as much as to look presentable and produce a beautiful visual design. This is appealing to the visitors. Then it is also vital for the content to be published on the website is strategized and organized in a manner; which makes it look neat and relates with the graphics; as well as other styles used.
Layers of web design
It is also vital to develop a good back-end layer of the website. That will support any processes which take place behind the scenes of the website; such as payment processing or clients feedback. These functions should be designed in a manner; which ensures the security of the visitors. It also does not infringe on their right. It’s important to for these processes to be seamless and not to take unnecessary time in loading or slowing the website.
Previously, this website belonged to a small web design company based UK. The company specialized in offering personalized web development to its clients mainly comprised of small local businesses. However, the company ceased it operation years back. They eventually dropped the domain.
However, I have a huge interest in web and graphical design. I decided to bring this website back to live. And I will be publishing more content about web design in today’s informational world and the best practiced; which makes a website attractive to clients. There are several posts that I’ve already published. They can be accessed by clicking through various posts below.
Tips for Better Web Design
With tens of thousands of people browsing the internet each day; you need to make sure your business is where it needs to be. You don’t want to lose out on potential clients; just because you weren’t available and easily accessible. This calls for you to create a beautiful website where you can meet people search for information or products and services on the internet. A beautiful and safe website is important in determining the success of a business online. Developing such a website takes time. It also needs necessary skills in order for it to be beautiful.
I’m a web developer; but one area which for long has been troubling me is developing a good design for my clients. The technical part of web design; which has been a headache to me is establishing the best visual presentation; which is vital for a client’s website as pertains to the use of colors, fonts as well as the graphics. This failure to become good at playing around with these object made me to lose on a lot of clients who never preferred most of the design that I chose because they seemed to cluttered and not attractive.
Developing Good Styles for Websites
In 2009, I felt that enough was enough and I was not ready to lose on a client anymore. I decided that it was time that I came up with a working structure; which could help me visualize on appealing design which I could use. I wanted something which would not be automatically repetitive. But would act as a guide in coming up with unique design; which would please my clients.
To achieve this, I decided to team up with an old friend who was good at developing various templates for programmers to use. It is from him that I learned of the ways to approach various styles according to the website that I’m creating.
Foremost, it is important for developers to know how to play around with CSS (cascading style sheets); as one mumble on the best presentation which is visually appealing. Apart from that, I realized that before starting on any design work, I needed to define all visual elements; such as colors, borders as well as the length & font sizes that will be used on the website.
Effects of Neat Designs to Users
When designing how these will have an effect on the website; you need to think with about the impression of the user when he lands on the website. Will the user like the design as well as the colors or graphics used. Or perhaps they will think negatively about it. I found out that when I thought of a website as if I were a user; I would be able to come up with the best style to be used on the website.
There is also need to plan for the other elements which will be used on the site; such as buttons and links. Although it is advisable to have buttons as well as important text links which match the color of the styles used. You could also try various styles of the same and try to visualize which can bring the best effects on a website.
There are times when matching style of these buttons
Links with the background color can produce a better effect and times when using different colors. This could still bring out a much better effect. It all calls for one to play around with the styles. Choose that which is the most appropriate.
The most important presentation of web design, however, should be the structure of the website. There is need to develop a good navigation structure; which will help visitors to easily move from one page to the next. The visitors should be able to clearly see what options are available; and to make the best choices on which pages they want to visit themselves. Such a structure should be neat and clearly elaborated through effective writing as well as indication of the direction.
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How a Responsive Site helps to Boost Businesses
As technology is increasingly advancing, a lot has changed on the way that people access the internet. Unlike a decade ago when people used to access the internet using PCs, today there are various devices which can be used to access the internet. These devices such as iPads, tablets, mobile phones etc have become increasingly popular because they are fast, reliable and not bulky. Hence can be carried around. They are also more popular because of their availability and because of the facts that they consume less data to access web pages than PCs.
It is important to have a responsive website because much of web using has shifted to mobile devices. A responsive website is one which ensures that web pages can be accessible from any device because they have been adapted to do so. By having responsive web pages, a user can access a website with little or no strain at all.
Also there is need for business to take advantage of the various payment tools; which have been created specifically to target mobile devices and which enable the users of these devices to make secure online payments using their devices rather than have to use a PC.
The Technology has changed the Way People Browse the Internet
Although I have had my business since 2004, it wasn’t until recently that I decided to make the website more responsive. Back then, the website was created on static HTML pages and thus little changes were ever made since I created it. Basically, I never fathomed that it was critical to reach to users through the internet and the website was a mere formality. However, as internet use continued to grow, I realize that my websites was receiving good traffic which was based from my clients who wanted to reach to me.
The decision to make the website mobile responsive came as a result of the pressure that I started to receive from my clients most of whom used mobile devices to access the internet. But were turned down by the ugly look of the site when access through such devices. They would leave comments about their bad experience on the site.
This prompted me to do something about the site. However, I still wanted to maintain an HTML site and I couldn’t find a good web developer who would make the site responsive. I wasn’t open to the idea of using Content Management Systems (CMS) like WordPress or Drupal, because I didn’t like the facts that I would be updating the site every time the CMS updated their interface.
Importance of Having Responsive Websites
As much as all that turned me ion, still I had to make a decision; which was greater than me and the business; a decision to serve my customers according to their needs because it is them who ensured that my business prospered. That is when I decided to that it was time to embrace CMS. I decided to choose WordPress which was the most popular version. I searched for a good WordPress developer and gave him instruction on how to create the website.
This must have been my best decision because things started to change to the better after the website was created. First of all, my clients were happy when I announced that the new website was serving anyone no matter what screen he/she was using to access the website. Then I went on to offer some great deals as part of business promotion the day that I launched the site. This was in line with my marketing strategy to get my clients to purchase online and the ability for them to use any device to make secure online payments.
Not only did this promotional method work. But even after the promotion period was over, I still maintained a stream of loyal clients, most of them who made purchases online using any device. My business is still growing and every day I usually challenge myself to find better ways of satisfying customers who try to reach me through mobile devices.
Online Business Selling Apps
“I don’t understand what is happening, Gerard,” my face scrunched as I looked at the numbers disapprovingly, “what the hell happened from yesterday to today?”
My business is the business of selling apps to companies that need to streamline their businesses. Electrifyingly awesome, I know; but if you don’t like it, and I don’t care. It has made me a billionaire. That’s billionaire with a “B” you condescending jerks. Anyway, back to the matter at hand, it turns out that my apps are making lives harder for people, meaning Gerard here is going to have my foot so far up his keister until he develops a patch to fix the OS on these bad boys. Until then, all my app can do is be a glorified cash register that allows the businesses to swipe credit cards.
That app already exists!
4
“Gerard, you have two hours to fix this! I will not be a has been a year into my success.” I slammed the door behind me, stormed to the elevator, and jammed the elevator button.
“Oh yes, thank you Sara, that feels good.”
Don’t worry you perverted people, nothing crazy is happening here, I am just getting a massage from my masseuse because Gerard stresses me out. My business is successfully running itself right now, with small businesses downloading my apps from their favorite app store for the low price of $9.99 plus a $1.99 per month fee for services. I feel your questioning gaze through your veiled attempt of kindness, and no, that doesn’t account for my billions. That came from big businesses.
What is a businesses number one problem in a big store?
You don’t know, you just shop at stores that I cover. Big business has a problem with their inventory being stolen, most of the time before it even gets to the store, so I am not saying that they are all dealing with shoplifting. So, I developed a program that encrypts a special code into the bar codes of the packages and can tell you the location of said package from destination to destination. And, I got two markets to buy into this, which is where I made all the money I currently possess.
First, I took my program to the shipping companies, and they bought in wholeheartedly to this idea. But here is the problem with that, you can open a box, take some merchandise out, and then have that box arrive at the same place. So, I went to the manufacturers for these companies and I have been slowly taking over that industry as well, securing each individual product. A year into it, I have signed some of the biggest clients in electronics, sporting goods, makeup and clothing. And, to be honest, I got complacent and set up that company to only work as an online company so that the companies could download the program.
My profits, though still outstanding, have dipped significantly. Part of that dip is because I have competition now; but their program is as shitty as Gerard’s pathetic programming abilities. It’s a good thing he is only costing me thousands of dollars every damn day.
“So, the problem is fixed now, and hopefully it will stay that way.”
“Yes, hopefully it will, Gerard, or your ass is on the streets.”
Watching him walk away
He was like a scared dog that gave me some sort of twisted sense of happiness; I know, crazy. Anyway, in checking my stats for downloads and payments, it looks like things are back on schedule. I guess it is time to figure something else out: why is Sara still here, my massage ended an hour ago…
“Sir, I was wondering…this may be strange…”
“Sara, meet me at my car tonight at 7. We will go have dinner.”
“That sounds wonderful, Sir.”
I have a new idea for an app. It’s going to be brilliant. But of course, I cannot tell you guys my ideas, you could be spies. On the plus side, it is almost noon now, this app can be done by the end of the day. Excuse me while I work, I need an unimpeded workspace.
My team of developers sat around my conference table. I’m a dork so I went with a round table. I even have a sword on my chair that is known as Excalibur… don’t judge me. Anyway, I digress, we are finishing up the app. It is pure genius and will hit the market tomorrow. It mixes a little social help with an online market for clothing. It’s gonna be brilliant.
Three weeks later…
Do you remember that app that I said was going to be brilliant? Yea well try 35,000,000 downloads in three weeks brilliant. And the downloads keep rolling in. Not only that, but the purchases being made are insane. I love my life, everything I touch turns to gold.
Benefits of Optimized Web Pages
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is normally a huge part of web design. But to some extent, it has been greatly ignored by many people. You need to understand that after your web pages have been indexed by search engines, it is vital for the content that you publish to be easily scanned by web crawlers so that your content can be listed in the search result if it is relevant enough to for the user who is searching for that specific information.
Although there are many factors; which usually determine how relevant your web pages are such are inbound links and outbound links, there are other factors on the web pages which needs to be optimized so that the crawlers can know that your pages contain relevant content. Keep in mind that your target should be for your pages to appear on the first page of the search engine results when a certain query relevant to your content is searched.
Use of Graphics in Web Pages
People love graphics and images because they convey a message in the simplest manner than having to read the whole content. That is the reason why many advertisers usually try to use eye-catching graphics on their web pages. Basically, they are trying to grab the attention of visitors using the color graphics. However, graphics and images can have a great disadvantage because they can at times make your web pages look ugly and thus not many people will love them. It is of best practice to ensure that the images that you use are beautiful and make the site look pretty. They should not be littered everywhere on the content; but should be evenly distributed.
Images also play a big role in determining the loading time of a web page. If you use many images which are too big in size and your servers are fast enough, it may take time for people to access your content especially for those who are using mobile devices. It is best to clearly determine how your images will result in the loading time of pages. If the pages load slowly, chances are that search engines may decide not to rank your pages as the best even if the content may be super.
Duplicate images
Especially those in the public domain may indicate that you have duplicate content; which may have your site penalized by search engines. It is therefore advisable to use unique images and graphics. Let your graphics have a mix of photos and texts so that they can convey information on their own.
Also other multimedia such as audios and videos should help keep a visitor on the page for a while and help to reduce bounce rate which is equally effective for optimization. However, ensure that you do not overdo it by adding more multimedia files which may eventually slow down the loading of a page.
The Role of Keyword in SEO
Keywords also play a major role in helping crawlers to determine the relevancy of your content to the search query. Most SEO experts usually use various keyword tools such as Google Planner to generate a list of seed keywords which they are going to use on the various pages. It is of good practice for you to also have a list of keywords which are being searched and use them in creating your content. Having the keyword in your title and also in the first paragraph is also vital in making your content look more legit and relevant. Hence can improve the ranking.
However, always try to ensure that you do not over stuff your keywords on the content as you try to trick search engines to ensure that your content is much relevant. Actually by doing so, you could easily get penalized by search engines.
Headline tags on your content
These are also vital for SEO purposes because it helps crawlers to associate your content with the tags and then determine the relevancy of the content. Use the headline tags to wrap content on your post on the title of the posts and also the subheading of your posts.
The most important thing for best optimization is always to have relevant and useful content for your readers. Always try to make your content look super and make sure that it is always updated. Also keep on adding new content from time to time. Sites that are always updated with new content are usually assumed to be more credible and are likely to be better ranked than stagnant sites; which take ages to get updated.
Importance of Great Web Design for Businesses
The robust power of the internet has made businesses to change many aspects in the way business is conducted. Much has been revolutionized; communication, data collection, globalization etc. It is also worthy noting that many people today have access to the internet and most people such for products and information online before making a decision about purchasing a certain product or service. Therefore it is critical for businesses to adopt best strategies which will help them to connect with their clients through the internet.
The best way that businesses can connect with clients online is through having a website where information about their products and services can be obtained easily although they can also connect with clients through social media platforms.
When I established my photography business back in the early 90s, I had no clue that one day I would be serving clients outside my local town. I had a passion in photography while growing up and after college; I did a short course in professional photography, before eventually establishing my own studio.
How Websites Promote Business Growth
The business did pick up and was doing fine. However, as a matter of fact, I never envisioned that one day it would grow bigger. The growth started sometimes in 2000s. At that time, I had developed an interest in nature photography and I would often travel and take scenic pictures of beautiful landscapes. There were times when I visited nature parks, birds and animals sanctuaries etc just to take picture. I mostly did this for fun. But as the portfolio of my nature images grew, there was need to find a better display where they would all fit. That is when the idea of establishing a website was born.
I visited a local web designer and contracted him to do create a website for me. It took about two weeks for him to have the site ready for me. I then started populating the site by uploading my work and detailing a little description about the various works that I uploaded. However after about three months, I realized that all was not well with the site. It looked ugly because of the combination of colors used in creating the website and also most of the pages took time to load. This was a big turn off to most of the visitors as I could read from their various comments even though they loved my work.
My Passion in Web Development
This made me desire to learn more about web design so that I could find the best styles to suit my work. I joined a college and started to learn about web development. I learn many aspects and tried various designs which could help me fix my website. It wasn’t long before I created my first own website and I had to move my work from the previous one to the new one.
This changed everything
Most of the visitors loved the new design and also my work. It wasn’t long before I felt the need to get started in to get clients who wanted to buy some of my work for use on their own websites. This was a major boost to my business. I was also able to connect with my clients from various parts of the world. I loved this new feeling and it made me become more enthusiastic in my work.
The major boost however came sometimes in the late 2000s when a local nature magazine contacted me and ordered about 50 percent of my works. Few weeks after the purchase, they contacted me and this time they wanted to hire me to be their nature photographer. It was an offer I couldn’t reject because I already had workers at my studio and I had all along been doing nature photography just for fun. I got hired by the company and since then my life has changed. I have had to visit and tour different parts of the world as I go to places to take nature pictures. Most of my work involves traveling and I usually derive a lot of pleasure for doing what I’m, best at.
Moreover, my website still helps me to connect with other clients and also helps in showcasing my portfolio in photography. This way, I can get clients form any part of the world. Thus, my business has been constantly growing.
Basic Structure of a Successful E-shop
Designing a website for any brick and mortar business has its own share of unique challenges. There are strategies which need to be adopted to help in delivering the infrastructure. Also, to realize the specific goals set up for the business.
Basically, the purpose of setting up a website is to increase the reach of customers and to streamline the way you interact and deliver on their needs at any period of the day. Through a website, clients can access, as well as order services at any time of the day and at any location without having to visit your physical location. Moreover, they also can find vital information regarding your products or services, updates, future plans and any other information; which is pertinent to your relationship with them.
When I started an e-store back in 2013, I didn’t, I was enthusiastic in delivering the best products to my customers. However, there are many factors that I overlooked that nearly killed my business. I knew that I would reach to many clients and thus I was prepared for growth. Businesses if run properly do grow over time. But growth in businesses usually poses a lot of challenges that have to be addressed. I had a road map to address any shortcoming that I would face in future. Although, I must agree that my strategies were weak.
Good Relationship with Clients and Speedy Processing of Orders are Vital for Online Businesses
Nonetheless, I ensure that my e-store offered high availability to customers at anytime. Also, it was hoisted by good and efficient servers. Hence low chances of downtime. Therefore, I tried all my best and invested in resources; which would ensure timely response and delivery time of products ordered. In addition to that, I ensured that any data or information of my clients. Especially credit card details, were confidential and handled with a lot of care. This was vital for the growth and prosperity of my business and also helped me to have a good leverage in handling my clients. Hence my business started to expand.
Be that as it may, I also ensured that orders received during the day were taken care of by having a team to take care of the batch and have the products dispatched in the soonest time possible. However, there were many things that I overlooked and most importantly was the security of the database.
Although I had a good team of It experts, we didn’t quiet revise the ideas of the business as it continued to grow. There was need for us to keep monitoring our structure to ensure that our models were reviewed from time to time to ensure security of the system. This setback worked against us, when a hacker tried to infringe our databases. Along with having access to some of the information of my clients. Although he didn’t get much of the information; he still was able to access confidential information of the company. This portrayed a bad image for the company.
Information Security is Critical for Online Businesses
As we worked closely with the local cyber crime unit to try track the hacker; I had to part with a lot of money for the legal suits. This followed later and eventually, I almost closed down the business. However, I tried all my best to continue running it. But the damage was already done. The image of the company was dented. It wasn’t easy convincing clients that it was still safe for them to make any online transactions through the portal.
However, I made a complete overhaul of the site and had it designed with improved security measures; which would be able to detect any fraudulent activity by hackers. I’ve since regained the some confidence form clients. But it has not been an easy ride. I had to lay off some of my staff when the magnitude of operations went down; and also to suffer huge losses. This has not been recovered yet.
Nonetheless, it is always critical for any business; which chooses to engage in online business to have a good structure and ensure security of the information of clients. When figuring out a web design for the websites; it is also advisable for one to have clear goals on how every solution will be implemented as well as how various setbacks can be managed without loss of reputation from clients.
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