WEB SITE DEVELOPMENT

WEB SITE DEVELOPMENT

How to Avoid the 12 Common Web Design MistakesCopyright 2002 by Herman Drost Are people visiting your web site but not buying? This may be asign and the time to do some redesign of your web site. Oftenyou are so close to what you have created, that you can’t seeobvious design mistakes. I often do the same when writing anarticle – everything looks fine when I have finished, yet when Ireview it the next day and I’m amazed at how many mistakes Ihave made. Let’s look at some of the most common Web Design mistakes: 1.Sloppy Web Site Copy – your heading and first paragraph shouldclearly indicate the purpose of your web site. “Content is King”on the Net, so make sure there is plenty of focused informationfor your visitors. The content should draw the visitor throughthe site to take action in the end. Include contact informationon every page in case people have questions. 2.Bad Color Coordination – avoid using dark text on a darkbackground. Use dark text on a light background, such as blackon white. Use colors that blend well together – observe natureor look at paintings to get some idea of good colorcombinations. 3.Pages Load Too Slowly – using too many images or insertinglarge images on a web page, slow down the loading time of yourweb page. Optimize your images (reduce their size) before youinsert them on your site, otherwise your visitors will leavebefore your site is loaded. 4.Poor Navigation – this means visitors can’t easily find theinformation. They experience broken links, error pages ordiscover too many moving objects (animations, flash, scrollingtext, marquees) – all these will annoy the visitor and cause himto click elsewhere. Keep your navigation simple by creatingclear links on all web pages. 5.Orphan Pages – these are pages other than your homepage, wherethe visitor has no idea how it fits in with the overallstructure of your web site. You should always have a link to thehomepage, so visitors know where they are on your web site. 6.Long Scrolling – the visitor has to scroll horizontally, ormany pages vertically to view the whole web page. Create thewidth of your web page to fit on one screen, to avoid horizontalscrolling and have a maximum of 3 pages to be scrolledvertically. 7.Meta Tags Missing – without optimizing your web page with adescription or keywords, people can’t find you on the searchengines. Research key words or phrases relevant to your sitecontent. Include them in your title, description and Web Sitecopy. 8.Lack of Marketing Strategy – a beautiful lawn without sun orwater will soon die. A Web Site without visitors will soon diealso. They are the life blood for your website. Create numerousmarketing strategies to attract visitors to your web site – younever know which one will be the most effective. 9.Poor Layout and Design – create an aesthetically pleasingdesign to keep the visitors on your site. Create enough whitespace between your text and images by using margins. Don’toverlap text and images and avoid capitalizing all text – itgives the impression you are shouting at your visitors. Usefont type such as Arial or Verdana to make it easier to read onyour computer screen. 10.Avoid Using Frames – frames don’t allow you to bookmark thepage or return to it and sometimes the URLS stop working. 11.No Cross Browser Compatibility – you may be losing manycustomers if your Web Site is not compatible to the browsersmost people are using. Internet Explorer (IE 4, 5, 6) iscurrently the dominant browser, and most users are displaying800x600 pixels or more, with a color depth of at least 65Kcolors. (http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp) .Therefore check your design with these statistics in mind. 12.Outdated Information – your web site is like a garden. If youallow weeds to block out the sun and take over your garden, itwill be destroyed. Attracting and keeping web site visitors,means continually adding new information (i.e. latest news),deleting irrelevant, outdated information and removing brokenlinks. Continuous maintenance of your web site is crucial toattracting and retaining visitors. If you don’t have time to doit yourself, hire a Web Gardener (Web Designer), to keep yoursite looking fresh, clean and fast loading.

If someone was going to really pressure me to recommend a hot home-basedbusiness for now and the future, there's one I'd have to list. That's webdesign! It seems everyone wants/needs to get a website up. For those whohavestarted creating sites for yourself, family, and friends and becomeintriguedwith the idea of actually making money doing something you really enjoy, webdesign might be the perfect home business for you.Jennifer Czawlytko, author of the eBook, "A Bizy's Guide To Creating SuccessIn Web Design" took time out of her busy schedule to talk about her businessof web designing.Jennifer has been my web designer for several years. I first met her in anonline chat that I used to host on AOL several years ago. A couple of yearsinto designing my site myself, I was in desperate need of finding adesigner.Because Jennifer wasn't shy about the business she ran, I knew exactly who Iwas going to ask to take this job.I know you'll learn so much from Jennifer's past experience and the tips shehas to offer.Liz: Jen, what makes web design the right business for you?Jen: I have always had a creative side that I primarily saved for my offtime(doing crafts, helping the PTA, etc.). I never really knew how to use mycreativity to succeed in my work life until I started working on thecomputers at my children's schools. As I explain in my eBook, I started withdesktop publishing and eventually discovered web design. Here was abusinesswhere I could be creative on a daily basis and make money. It is importantto note though, while I can make a good income with this business, thebenefits of running this business go far beyond financial. I am a naturallyshy person, but web designing has allowed me to do something that I love,something that can make a difference for so many people, and mostimportantly, something that has allowed me to believe in myself. As a Mom Ihave always told my children that they have to believe in themselves. Now Ican teach them by example. For me, that makes this the right business.Liz: For the Moms thinking about starting a web design business, would thisbe a good business for them to start from home? And why?Jen: Definitely, if they have creative talents and can project a solidbusiness image, this is an ideal business to run from home. In my eBook Icover not only the skills you need for this business, but also talk aboutpersonalities. It is important for the budding entrepreneur to know thatthis type of business is not for everyone. For example, you won't make moneyovernight and you won't have the benefit of someone else's product to sell.Web design is a business where you are selling your skills, your only"product samples" are things that YOU create. That may sound scary, butremember the benefits ... YOU create your own success, YOU manage your ownschedule and workload, and YOU reap all the benefits. I love being able toattend all my boys' school events, being able to work at 1 AM if one of myboys isn't feeling well during the day, deciding when I want to take avacation, etc.Liz: Has this business always been easy? Did you ever think about giving up?Jen: Has anyone ever actually answered yes to that first question and no tothe second one? LOL I truly believe any business you start is going tohaveits tough times and there will be times you feel like giving up. So no, ithasn't always been easy, and yes, I have considered giving up, many times.But it isn't important if you have times like that; what is important is howyou handle them and grow from them. The first "problem" that arises willalways be the toughest one because you are more vulnerable in the beginning.But if you learn from each bad experience, you will prevent future mistakesand you will be stronger for it. In my eBook, I present some of theproblemsI have faced so that others can learn from my experiences as well as theirown.Liz: Do you have to know everything there is to know just to get started?Jen: No, that is one of the wonderful things about web design, there isalways something new to learn. You can start out offering the most basicservices and work your way up as you learn new techniques and strategies. Inmy eBook, while I do not explain or teach the reader web design skills, I doexplain what the different skills are and new ones to keep an eye on in thefuture. The Internet is a constantly growing and changing environment forthose who design it and those who surf it, so you can really dig out yourownlittle niche tailored to what you know and what you are willing to learn.Liz: Is a web design business expensive to start and manage?Jen: If you already have a computer then you have the biggest expense out ofthe way. I started with the basics: a computer, printer, HTML editingsoftware, graphics editing software, and lots of free learning resources. Idid not take any college courses or pay for any online courses, most of mylearning came from a few books I picked up (like Laura LeMay's "TeachYourself Web Design in 21 Days"), free online tutorials, and viewing theHTMLcoding from other web sites. As your business grows you can add otherequipment and upgrade your currentequipment. In the beginning I made a rule that I would not purchaseanythingnew for my business unless I had the money in my business account. Myaccount started out with $100 of my personal money, which I have sincerepaidmyself, and I have never had to violate my rule. I had to make somesacrifices, like not buying the "best" programs when I started, not usingthemore expensive forms of advertising, or borrowing my friend's scanner untilIcould buy my own, but I wanted my business to pay for itself and it has.Liz: What has been your biggest struggle with marketing your business andhow did you overcome it?Jen: My shyness. Online I can talk to anyone and can project a great image.But offline I am incredibly shy and introverted. A lot of that stems fromlow self-esteem and a general belief that everyone is better than me. Ihavemade great strides in this area as my business has grown, but in thebeginning it was very difficult to overcome. I was able to get around it byfocusing my marketing on techniques which did not involve me being placedface-to-face with potential clients. My marketing was primarily accomplishedonline. As I mention in the marketing sections of my eBook, this might notwork for everyone, but it was what I had to do to feel confident enough tospeak with my potential clients.Liz: Any last words of advice?Jen: Know your strengths and weaknesses as a business owner and have a goodsupport network around you. Many times you will find that your strengthscan be utilized in unusual ways to compensate for your weakness in otherareas. Your family, friends, and business colleagues can help you determineif you are overly concerned about weaknesses you may have. We are alwaysourown worst critics anyway. If you aren't finding enough support in yourcurrent circles then go out and find new ones, because starting a businessishard and you need truly supportive people around you. In my eBook, I havetried to lay out both the pros and cons of starting a web design business,but only you can make the decision on if it is the right type of businessforyou. Weigh the pros and cons, then balance them with your own strengths,weaknesses, and the advice of your friends to make the right decision foryou. Regardless of your decision I wish you well and hope you achieve allyou hope to in life. Good Luck!