Website Design

An integral part of any business in these times is a website. Many customers will now base their opinion and first impression of your business as a result of finding you on the internet. A website should be considered to be your store front and as such, it is crucial that you pay heed to how the site looks and operates. Think about when you go shopping, be it for groceries or a brand new outfit for a wedding. Think about how the store is laid out and then think about the moment when you go to the till and the cashier gives you the bill. How often have you been checking your receipt as you push the trolley out of the store wondering what on earth you've spent money on. I'm sure we've all done it and believe me, this is nothing to do with chance.

These are clever tactics by large stores to encourage you to part with cash. Have you ever wondered why the bakery is generally located at the back of the store? The luring smell of freshly baked bread draws you into the store (sometimes further than the fridge where the pint of milk that you need is located!) and encourages you to spend more time in the store. Next time you're doing your grocery shop, look
at the items on the shelf that are at eye-level. Notice that these are generally the most expensive items with the prices increasing from left to right (the way that we are trained naturally to read!). The cheaper items tend to be on lower shelves (we have to put more effort into buying these ones, including bending down!

It comes down to this, the longer you spend in a store, chances are, the more money you'll spend. This applies on-line too. The first obstacle is getting people to your site, the second is keeping them there and the third is encouraging people to spend money in your store. It is important to lay out your site in a clear
and logical manner and keep people interested. Personally, I can't stand adverts. When they pop up in a box in the middle of my screen, I generally close the site, go back to my search results and go to the next website down in the hope that these annoyances won't appear on that site too. If you must have adverts,
try having them in strategic places and give the visitor the choice whether or not they want to view them. Another point to bear in mind is that when these pop-ups are clicked on, your visitor is generally directed away from your site so they really are counter productive.

When considering the design of a site spend some quality time thinking about it. Many web designers will give you pointers and assistance with the design of your site. Most of these designers are professional and it generally pays to listen to them. If you have your own ideas of how your site should look, share these with your web designer but be prepared to come and go. At the end of the day, if you insist on a specific design, the web designer will go along with it (they may not publish it in their portfolio!) because they earn a living from creating websites. Website designers are usually qualified and have up-to-date knowledge regarding
website design, planning and implementation. If you take the design aspect of your site into your own hands (unless you have a good design background) you may suffer in the long run. If you are unhappy with the suggestions made by your designer, speak with them. Alternatively, shop around until you find a designer that you feel comfortable with. Ultimately, any web designer will give you the best advice possible since this will result in increased traffic to your site which may in turn lead to repeat business for the web designer.

One aspect of your site that you will want to look impressive is any graphic images relating to your business/product. You should always bear in mind copyright issues and the best advise I can give is to sign up to a site that offers stock photography. Some sites will provide limited free photographs that may just suit your needs. Ask the web designer to make sure that any images in the site have alternative text that search engine crawlers can pick up. This is a small issue that is often overlooked but can result in a greater number of visitors to your site.

When Polaris Design are asked to design and develop a site, a popular question that is often asked is "why am I not on the first page of Google?". This comes down to search engine
optimisation. I would consider web design and SEO to be two separate pieces of work, although most designers/developers will design a site which is search engine friendly. You should understand that SEO is not an exact science and that there are never any guarantees of where your site will rank
with search engines. There are many aspects to consider including how long the domain has been registered and how many inbound links you have to your site. There are lots of companies and freelance SEO experts out there who are only too willing to offer their services. Alternatively, find out for yourself how to best optimise your site. If you're prepared to spend a few hours in front of a computer, you can do wonders for your page ranking independently and negate the need to pay someone else to do it for you. If you want your website professionally "optimised" be prepared to pay for the services you will receive. Generally, the payback should be good as you will have greater numbers of visitors to your site.

Finally, when considering having a website designed and developed, be prepared to make a financial investment. For a basic Content Management System, you should be prepared to spend a minimum of around £350 upwards. For an e-commerce site, starting prices will be around £600 to £800 and upwards depending on your requirements and functionality of the site. If you consider the cost of advertising, these prices are fairly small in comparison and are generally one off fees that will give you a respectable looking
website. You should look to have your site revamped every 12 to 18 months to keep it looking fresh and the content relevant. Be wary of companies and individuals who claim to produce all-singing all-dancing CMS E-Commerce websites for £150, you get what you pay for! Reputable designers and developers put a lot of time and effort into their profession and this will be reflected in the prices that are charged.

Thanks for taking the time to read this article and I wish you well in your website design project and business.