| |
| |
|
Web Design Information |
|
|
|
Do You Hate Your Website? Web Site Sales To Hit $316 Billion Over The Next 6 Years
What dollar amount does your web site contribute to this $316 billion dollar trend? Have you spent thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands on your web site only to discover that it attracts more flies than customers? Do you hate your web site, your web developer or your entire IT department? Do not despair! You are not alone! A great web site is crucial in order to effectively communicate to a business's target audience. It is important for Chief Executives and small business owners to pay close attention to the effect that their web site has on their business. A poorly designed site will not generate desired revenues and could even produce negative results if it sends the wrong message to potential customers. In a 2003 survey of major corporations from Ford to Wal-Mart, 20 corporation sites failed to meet Forrester's standards for usefulness, clarity or content. Because a visually unappealing or difficult to navigate site will discourage return visits, many companies have decided to update their site. After it's re-launch in 2003, Macromedia Inc. saw it sales per site visitor jump 67%! We have divided companies into three categories based on their level satisfaction with their web site. 1. Happy?But - They are happy with what they have but want to keep up with industry trends and continually update their site as their company grows. A study conducted by the Wall Street Journal found that larger companies have a "wild card" provision set into their yearly web budget. Every year their budget includes routine upgrades, maintenance, new projects and "wild card" money set aside for the latest and greatest application or gadget that may come down the pike. 2. Transitional - They have outgrown their site and want to upgrade and expand their web presence. 3. I Hate My Web Site - You need help! Did Uncle Bob develop the site? Maybe your neighbor gave it a try. Or maybe you spent good money on a professional firm but are still not happy with the results. Try the quiz below. You may want to consider making improvements to your site if you answer "no" to several of the following questions. Is Your Site: 1) Easy to navigate? 2) Detailed and comprehensive? 3) Visually appealing, professional and pleasing? 4) Up to date? Does Your Site: 5) Have a unique style or original graphics? 6) Have a consistent theme and convey the central message? 7) Load web pages quickly? 8) List company contact information in an easy to find place? 9) Use correct spelling and grammar? 10) Have a site map? 11) Make it easy to get back to the homepage? 12) Have a way to email the company for more information? 13) Pull up images correctly (i.e. contains no broken images)? 14) Pull up all pages and websites correctly (i.e. contains no broken links)? 15) Have an appropriate text to image ratio? 16) Have streaming audio and video? 17) Print pages without losing any of the text or cutting off part of the page? 18) Translate into other languages? Do you: 19) Have control over the content and have the ability to make changes? 20) Have an e-newsletter marketing system? 21) Have e-commerce capabilities? 22) If you have e-commerce, can customers easily purchase your products or do they get frustrated and leave the site before completing the transaction? John, President of ClickCom.com, is available for personalized seminars and can be reached at jd@clickcom.com or 704-365-9970 x 110. Special thanks to Mike Drummond of The Charlotte Observer for article information and facts.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Setting Up a Website Where does a person start when setting up a website? What software is best to use? Setting up a website is not an easy proposition. If you are interested in knowing what the first step is in setting up your own website, continue reading. Having A User Friendly Website Let's look at what your user wants to see at your website.1. Top Ten Absolutely Free Websites for Downloading Cool Fonts The following list of websites is the best compilation of sites on the web where you can download many different fonts totally free. Also, there are a variety of different types of fonts and styles you can download from the following sites so start searching today. Understanding How HTML Color Codes Work Ever wonder how HTML color codes are put together? For the beginner, it can look like lots of numbers and letters that make no sense. In reality, HTML color codes are written that way for a specific reason that we'll look at in this article. Other Ways to Look at Things Many people today are tired of the Microsoft software that came pre-packaged with their operating system. Some have switched over to Apple's Macintosh line, but for the most part we just put up with what we have. 6 Design Flaws Newbie Web Designers Make: Fool Everyone Into Thinking You Know What Youre Doing Even if you're not an accomplished webmaster you can still have a professional looking website. You may be like I was five years ago-you're teaching yourself web design and you're starting to catch on to that HTML stuff. Maximising Web Site Viewability - Browsers With so many different configurations internet users have their computers set up with, it can be difficult to decide how web sites should be configured so that it is viewable in as many configurations as possible.So in the last 6 months i have been logging the statistics from my web design site to achieve as accurate a result as possible to answer this question. The Right Trigger Words CNN.com's designers have gone out of their way to make their work difficult. Mini Site or Content-based Web Site? Are you in a dilemma whether to create a mini site or a content-based web site for your new product or service? The purpose of creating a web site should be to attract visitors and convert them to paying customers. Is a mini site with a few pages enough to do this or should you spend more time and create a content-based web site which contains many pages?Let's look at some of the Pros and Cons:Mini SitesPros1. Build It And Build It Cheap! There are several very good reasons why you should consider building your own web site versus having someone do it for you. It's more cost efficient, you can make it much larger in content, you are more involved in how you want the pages to look, and I have actually enjoyed learning the dos and don'ts of website profiling. How To Improve The Professional Look And Feel Of Your Website Projecting a professional image is paramount to your website's success. It can make or break your online business. You Too Can Have Fun With Sepia Images! If you are one of those who wonder how people come up with the cool looking sepia tone prints that you admire so much. If you are doubling up with jealousy over a sepia tone, here, we will give you tips on how you could achieve this sepia tone, too. Cool Web Design And Promotion Tips This article gives free tips on how to find a cheap website designer and free tips on website promotion services.Cheap website design services. How to Make Effective Use of Web Fonts Writing for your web site is not the same as offline writing. The fonts used for print media are different than web fonts. Don't Put Your Slogan in the Title Tag - Optimize Your Web Pages Don't just put your slogan in the title tag when you formulate the copy of your website. The formulation of the title tag is the most important single aspect when you fine-tune your website:1. Breathe New Life Into Your Half-dead Website By Using Words That Sell This article may come as a surprise to you.Especially since it is written by a web designer. Technology vs. Usability When JV Media Design was formed, the year was 1995 and the Internet was a very different place than it is today.The first websites we created used simple layouts, a modest amount of graphics, standard "web safe" colors, and no javascript. Want to Increase Your Online Sales? Make Sure That Your Web Site Has a Unique Selling Proposition If you own a web site or if you are going to build a new one, the most important thing about your site is to achieve as high as possible visitors to sales conversion rate.Although they say that "the traffic is king online", if your website converts poorly, your online business will fail, unless you receive tons of free traffic which I doubt. Web Marketing: Design Mistakes That Drive Customers Away In Droves They may look cutting edge, but if you want a web site that contributes to your bottom line here are some design ideas you will want to avoid:· Opening with Flash. If your site opens with a movie that your prospect is forced to sit through, no matter how short, before they can get to your "welcome" or "home" page, you are losing customers. Welcoming Your Website Visitors Imagine you're going on a blind date. You've heard wonderful things about this person, and in your heart of hearts you're thinking -- hoping -- this might just be "the one.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |