Web Design For Idiots

So, building a website takes a lot of technical knowledge and skill. When you talk about coding with someone who’s technical experience goes as far as attaching an image to an email, they look at you like you are a super genious when it comes to websites – whether you are or not. The thing is though, that when people are surfing the web and looking at websites, they hardly ever think about all of the coding and customization work that went on in the back end. They are looking and the design of the website.. So really, someone could argue that an eye catching design is more important than customized code and fancy little gadgets that serve no real purpose to the usability to the website.

All too often I seen websites that have a thousand little cheeky gadgets on them that serve no purpose, and it really shows the lack of skill on the designer. One item that I see everywhere is the “carousel” Its ugly and hardly ever works right. You can see an example here (link). As you can see, it can be “cool” but not every website should have it and it really needs some good quality images in there.

So yea, that brings me back to DESIGN! Designing a website starts with a concept, and that is where I am now with one of my projects. I am designing my web/graphic design’s company website and I would like to take you through the process, step by step.. Right now, there is not much to talk about aside from ideas..

This is how all websites should start!

With a pen and paper and some brainstorming. So many people skip this step, but it is the single most important step in creating a successful website. Most people grab a template, add their logo and change a few things and they consider themselves done. This approach is ok if you need a quick website and you don’t care about being unique. For instance, if you are selling electronics, you do not need to be unique, you just need to have a professional look that is easy to navigate. The goal of a website like that should be to exude professionalism because we all know there are loads of electronics scams out there.

However, if you are selling a unique product, or are offering a unique service, then you absolutely should create a unique and memorable design. For instance, all too often I see people who are selling crafts online. These people, decide to design their own website, but they skip the creativity that they put into their crafts and just try to get it done… WHY? How come people feel that ANY web presence is ok.. Thats not true! If you really do value your business, you should showcase your business online with the professionalism that you would within your store. You wouldn’t have a store with monopoly money, a few milk crates and a piece of plywood for a table, why would you build your web store with the same concept? Whatevers free and get the cheapest possible if you HAVE to pay for something. Kind of not smart.

The thing with the digital age is, people will look you up online whether they plan on walking into your storefront or purchase online. If someone decides that they want to go to the local “widget store” but they do not know where it is, what do they do? They go online and do a search for “Widgets in my town” and up pops a handful of sites. From there they will click on the links to check you out. Now, if you have a nice looking website, even if you arent selling anything from there, it is more likely that someone will swing by your store first if it is within a few miles of the others. The same goes for people buying online. If they search for “widgets” to purchase online, they take out the location, you are now competing with the biggest of big companies. So the big box widget maker is going to pop up first, they always do. Now, if you want an online presence that will also make you some money, you will HAVE to compete with the big box widget store.

How do you compete with the big box guys online?

Well, there are two main things that people are looking for online. There are a few bullet points that people would be willing to sacrifice to get the other. The first is price. People now are always looking for the best price online, but this brings us into the second thing people look for. Professionalism. If your website looks like it was slung together by a highschooler in their bedroom, the user might sacrifice a lower price for the security of knowing that they are working with a good company that takes themselves seriously and will take care of them.

So how do you show that you are as trustworthy as the big guys?

Well, there are a few things, but MOST of them have to do with the design of your website. You want to have a website that shows professionalism. A template can do that for you, but a unique design is ideal. Why do people equate design with professionalism? Well, because they figure companies who have a nice looking website took the time to research their design and pay a designer to build it. That then turns into the customer feeling the seller takes their business seriously and will provide what they need to. People just do not feel comfortable putting their credit info into a website that looks like it might not be a legitimate company. The other way to show your customers that you are legitimate is to post a customer service phone number, an address, and other information about your actual facility – even if it is out of your house (you can talk about the warehouse your good come from). Adding things like SSL and a Better Business Bureau seal of approval. No matter what you have added, your desing will be the first thing people look for, and studies show that people make up their mind about buying on a website within the first 30 seconds of viewing. In 30 seconds people are not going to look for contact info or read your content about how great you are.. they are going to look at your website as a whole.. the design.

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Want to know who is offering this awesome content? Here it is! Someone who is relatively new to web design. I am new enough to still remember how absolutely frustrating it was to try and get anything done in this field, but have also been around long enough to be able to help those that are where I was a year ago. Aside from web design, I run the office of my dad's engineering business, and do book keeping by trade. I love my pets.. All 6 cats, 1 peg legged dogs, and 1 hedgehog. LOVE THEM!! Oh yea, and my husband. He lets me chase my dreams and I let him do the same. We are happy people because of it. Read more from this author

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This entry was posted on Sunday, July 19th, 2009 at 4:25 pm and is filed under Web Design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.