Posted by seotech on December 3, 2009 under web design | 
Creating a SEO-friendly website
When creating an SEO-friendly website there are several things to take into consideration. First, choose a URL address incorporating keywords relevant to your site. Create a site map so your pages can be crawled and indexed by search engines. You can also submit pages to search engines to be included in their database. Then create a great website that actually deserves to be in the top ten search engine results. This includes a site that is easy to navigate, that is it has a clear hierarchy and text links. Every page should be reachable from at least one static text link. Write useful, information-rich, unique and readable content. Then give your content relevant titles and be accurate in your meta descriptions.
Try to use text instead of images to display important content or links, or at least use meta tags if you use an image. Keep links on any given page to less than 100. This goes for your site map as well. If the site map is larger than 100 links, you may want to break it up into separate pages.
Remember that even if you use great SEO techniques and end up with a great rank, it is important to present a website that will actually appeal to those reading it. This includes not deceiving users about the content in your website, known as ‘cloaking’, or duplicating content or simply having pages of links.
Web Design
Keeping in mind that your website should appeal to users, pages should attempt to be easy for the user to read and navigate. You can design the site yourself or choose to employ a web designer, but here are a few tips to consider. Avoid strong colours for backgrounds, using it instead to highlight key features on a neutral background. Keep the design simple and balanced using good-sized margins to create space.
Use 3D effects, icons and buttons to a minimum. They can be used for a professional and high-quality look, but don’t over do it. Centre-alignment is also a good idea because it gives a balanced feel. And don’t forget to spell check- nothing looks less professional than a site full of spelling mistakes.
Posted by seotech on November 6, 2009 under web design |
Layout and Content
The design of your website is one of the most important aspects in reaching your target market or audience. Whatever the image conveyed by your site will reflect on your company and brand, and ultimately the message that you are trying to communicate or the amount of sales you make.
Web design has evolved over time, and one of the elements that is catching on is a simple layout with a centered orientation. Rather than having random bits of text or graphics that make the user try and figure out what to look at first, simple layouts designed to be read from top to bottom are more straightforward and easier to read. In the past, left-aligned and liquid (full-width) layouts were quite common. However, today many websites today are shifting to centered layouts, giving a roomier appearance, making the reader scroll down rather than attempting to make as much information as possible visible at first glance.
Colours and Icons
Colour is very important when making a first impression on your webpage. It is the first thing users will notice, and will probably be the first thing that either draws them in to read the content or push them away is used badly. Some of the best websites around will have cool or neutral backgrounds that will complement, not distract, from your content. It should also be a plain background, as the ‘wallpaper’ effect can be very irritating to the eye. Then by using a plain, neutral background, you can use strong colours to draw the eye to more important features on the page. However it should be used sparingly, or it won’t having any effect, and consistently.
Once you’ve got your colour scheme sorted, you can add some icons and 3D effects. These draw the user’s attention and give a page a professional look. Once again though – they should be used sparingly. Having space declutters the page, making it easier to grasp.
Posted by seotech on October 26, 2009 under seo company sydney, web design |
Website Design
Web design refers to the process of creating online content for end-users through the Internet or web-enabled software. Rather than designing the functional elements of websites, web design usually refers to the aesthetic qualities or of the content or features for consumers. It can involve various disciplines from animation, photography, typography, animation or graphic design. The coding used to develop these features can include markup languages (e.g. HTML and XML), styles sheet languages (e.g. CSS and XSL), client-side scripting (e.g. JavaScript), server-side scripting (e.g. ASP and CGI), database technologies (MySQL) and multimedia technologies (e.g. Flash and Silverlight).
Some of the basic aspects of web design are content, usability, appearance and visibility. The content of a website should be relevant and have substance, i.e. not just pictures or links. It is important that the users be able to navigate their way around the site, with a reliable and simple interface. The style used, includ the graphics and text, should be consistent through the website. Finally, after so much work has gone into the development and design of the site, it is important that the site be easy to find via most search engines. SEO (search engine optimisation) techniques should be used so that your target audience will be able to find your site when typing in relevant key words in search engines.
Elements of Great Designs
Great design can be difficult to achieve, to avoid being cliche, boring, distracting or confusing, as well as remaining functional. For example, if the site has to download too many items (e.g. videos, graphics, photos, sound), it will take longer and the user may not bother to wait for it to load.
Some considerations include having a background that makes it easy to read the text, consistent and clear navigation buttons, coordinated link colours, repeated elements across all pages within a site so that it looks like each actually belongs to the same website.
