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How to plan out your website

Posted: January 20th, 2010

Like anything in business a website requires careful planning. This article will provide guidelines and tips for planning your web strategy. Not only will this help your web designer/developer when it comes to building your site, but it may even save you money too, as the site will be able to built quicker. Read on for more information.

The pen is mightier than the mouse

The first stage of planning your new website will involved sketching out a basic outline of the information you want to display on it. You should start with your top-level links (the main categories or pages for your site). You may find that certain categories/pages require sub-pages and categories. This will almost always be true if you’re planning on selling products online. For example, if your site is to sell pet food you will need to have separate categories of food for each animal that you sell the food for. Work your way through each of the sections for your site deciding whether you need additional pages for each. If you do list the sub-pages below the appropriate heading in your sketch.

Why is sketching out the page names important?
This first step is probably the most important step in the whole process of building your site. The number of pages you have can have an effect on the design of your site. If you have several sub-pages in each category for example, your designer may choose to build your site’s navigation system using a drop-down menu, something that wouldn’t work if you only had top-level pages (there wouldn’t be any sub-categories). The number of pages your site has can also affect the price of your project, or may influence the designer’s software solution for your project (it may be cheaper and quicker to use open-source software rather than building the site from scratch). The designer isn’t able to make these decisions without first know the approximate number of pages/sub-pages/categories you need in your website.

Branding your site

Quite often you’ll want to use the same logo and corporate colours on your website that you use on all of your other promotional material. This is a good idea. It maintains a consistent look across your range of offline and online material and also helps clients identify that the new website they’ve come across does indeed belong to the same company they’ve dealt with before in offline business. However, there are times when it may be necessary to creat entirely new branding. One example of this could be for a new product you’ve developed and are wanting to promote on it’s own self-contained website. Even if this is the case you should include your main company logo on the page somewhere, maybe in the bottom right-corner of the footer, so that people know your company has produced the product. Sites like this are often used for the promotion of iPhone Apps.

Whilst you’ll no doubt have your own vision of how your site should look you should always listen to the web designer. They’re the professionals in this aspect of creating your site and if they tell you something won’t work you should take note, especially where colours and page layout are concerned.

The web: it’s a social thing

As well as planning out the site itself you should also be making plans for how you will drive traffic to the site once it’s completed and thus grow your user base. You may have heard the term ’social networking’ a lot recently. Social networkings sites are websites that allow users to communicate and share ideas and information. They’re also excellent tools for marketing your company’s products and services to a large number of people for free. Twitter is currently one of the most popular social networking tools and you should certainly be investigating ways you can use their service to help spread the word about your site/service/products. This blog is set to automatically post new entries directly to Twitter as soon as they’re published. This is a great way for me to tell everyone that there’s something new for them to read.

You should be prepared to spend some time cultivating your social networking sites. It’s often a good idea to appoint someone within your organisation to regularly maintain and update content for you in this area. A lot of people think that once a website is live you can forget about it and it will start working for you. This couldn’t be further from the truth. You need to constantly keep your site up-to-date with products and information, you need to tell people about your site, you need to advertise your site. If you don’t then you’ve wasted the money and time you spent having it developed.

One final tip in this section, and it’s one I’ve seen people ignore time and time again. Make sure your website address is on all of your company’s printed literature. It’s a no brainer, but is absolutely essential.

Final thoughts

In summary then, you need to start your planning way before a single line of code is written for your new site. You need to reflect your company’s corporate branding on your site in most cases and you need to continue to develop and promote your site once it’s live on the Internet. Follow these rules and you should end up with a professional looking site that helps generate extra income for your business.

Written by Ian Hazeldine, Managing Director of Yellow Circle Web Solutions Limited, a web design and hosting company based in Staffordshire, UK

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Posted in Communication, Marketing, Web Design | 3 Comments »

Communication is key in web design

Posted: October 7th, 2009

communication-is-key

In today’s modern world there are more ways to communicate with people than ever before. Communication has become a key part in our daily lives, both personal and professional. It’s important to remember that when working with a web designer communication is key to getting your site right both now and in the future.

Client to web designer

Quite often a client who doesn’t have a great deal of technical knowledge may feel intimidated into asking questions or seeking advice from the web designer as they don’t want to ask something that might make them feel stupid. This should NEVER be a factor. Your web designer should encourage you to ask for help and explain things in a way you understand. You’re the customer, the designer is here to meet your needs, not their own. You’re paying for the service so feel confident in asking anything you like about the project. If you’re not happy with the answer or need further clarification ask again until you are satisfied.

I’ve been working in the web industry as a professional designer/developer  since 1997 and I don’t know everything – far from it in fact. Truth is neither does anyone else. We’re constantly learning new things as new technologies are born and development tools evolve in our line of work. If I need the answer to a question from someone I will ask. It’s always better to ask, than to try and guess at something. My point is that if you come to me as a web expert you shouldn’t be afraid to ask me anything. I’m learning all the time just like you.

Bottom line: If you don’t like something, or you dont’ understand something you’re being told – please, speak up about it.

Web designer to client

To ensure you end up with happy clients at the end of a project communication is key from the designer to the client. You should always ask your client for feedback on the project at key stages. If something isn’t quite right for the client you can amend it to suit their requirements during development rather than having to go back once everything is done and alter things then (which can be a headache for more complicated sites).

I’ve already mentioned the fact that as web experts we should explain things clearly to our clients in lay terms. I cannot stress this point enough. Over the past decade I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve talked to clients who had dealt with another ‘web expert’ before me and during my initial meeting with them they’ve told me that ‘we didn’t really know what the other guy was talking about so we just paid him’. This is NOT how you build a relationship with your clients. You need to remember that just because you know what you’re talking about doesn’t mean they will and it’s wrong to expect them to know. Don’t be patronising to them, but after you’ve explained your proposal for their project ask them if they are happy and state that if there’s anything they need clarifying they should feel free to ask – even after the meeting has ended.

Finally you should always try to make yourself available for a client when it’s convenient for them, not you. If you provide a telephone number always try to answer calls. If a client leaves a message make sure you call them back and even if they’re not available leave a message yourself so that they know you’ve responded.

Similarly, it’s important to respond to emails and, if you’re going to be away from the office for a while, set up auto-responders to let clients know that you’ve received their email and will deal with it once you’re back in the office (including the dates you’re away from and to is also a good idea in this case).

Again, countless times I’ve met with clients who have dealt with other web companies who before us and told me they could never get hold of a person to help them. They received no response to either telephone calls or emails. That, in my view, is totally unacceptable. I always explain to clients that if I don’t answer the phone it will only ever be for 2 reasons; I’m driving and don’t have handsfree or I’m in a meeting with another client. If either of these circumstances arises I always ensure I call the client back the same day. It’s reassuring for a client to know that you will be there when they need you and it will help build a great relationship with them.

Final thoughts

Hopefully this article has helped you out and hopefully, if you’re a designer, you’ve been doing all of the things I’ve mentioned already. If not, then now is the time to change that. Clients, you should have the confidence to ask for help from your designer and if they’re not serving your needs it may be time to look elsewhere.

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Posted in Communication, Customer Service, Web Design | 2 Comments »

Ten ways to keep fit and healthy when you’re a web designer

Posted: August 31st, 2009

Designing websites for a living is great for making money and getting yourself a rewarding career. However, hours sat at a desk building your websites for clients means it’s not so good for keeping fit. A couple of years ago I absolutely ballooned in weight through lack of excercise and proper diet and so I decided enough was enough and took up weight training. I didn’t join a gym or anything expensive like that, instead I bought myself a set of dumbbells and a bench and began working out at home after work.

2 years later and I’m still at it and feel a lot better for it.

With that in mind I thought it might be useful for other web designers to highlight some simple, fun and (quite) inexpensive ways that you too can keep fit and still do what you love to do for a living.

1 .Buy a Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit

Ok so I know I said that we would be looking at inexpensive ways to keep fit, and the £179.99 for a Wii isn’t cheap money, and then you’ve got to pay for Wii Fit on top of that (another £70)  but it can be inexpensive if you use it regularly over a long period of time when compared to a monthly gym fee or health club membership.

In addition to weight training I use my Wii and Wii Fit for cardio workouts and let me tell you, if you do about 30 minutes of exercise you will work up quite a sweat (and burn off calories). In addition to the cardio activities Wii Fit also has an excellent selection of Yoga exercises, as well as some games, all designed to get your whole body moving. Nintendo are set to launch a sequel to Wii Fit this winter called Wii Fit plus, which will offer new exercises and activities. You can find out more about Wii Fit here

2 . Go for a run

Right, that’s enough with the expense now, back to simple and effective techniques and nothing can be simpler than going for a run around your local neighbourhood. Running has many benefits for your body including losing weight, giving you healthier lungs, lowering your blood pressure and even better sex (according to scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health). Read more about running here

3 . Get on your bike

Biking is fun and is great for cardio work, so why not cycle to work one day? It will be healthier for you and you won’t be sitting in rush hour traffic. I used to be into cycling in a big way and we’re currently developing a cycle sportive website for a client who is promoting local events in the Staffordshire and Cheshire areas. Read more about cycling and the health benefits

4 . Buy an exercise dvd

So we love to look at screens all day because we’re web developers, that much we know already. Well how about looking at a screen and doing exercises at the same time? Although keep fit DVDs are mostly aimed at women, men can benefit from performing the exercises too. There are many different exercise DVDs available and most of the time you can get them for very little money. Play.com has a large selection take a look; play.com fitness dvd top sellers

5 . Eat sensible food and smaller portions

This is probably the simplest thing to do to help you keep in shape. Just eat less. I used to have 4 slices of bread when making a sandwich. After seeing how large I’d become a couple of years ago I decided to eat my food more slowly and have less of it. I now have just 2 slices of bread and still feel as full. So the next time you make a meal think ‘do I really need to have this much food on my plate?’ Chances are the answer will be no. More information about eating smaller portions can be found here

6 . Take the stairs not the elevator

If you work in a large office building with several floors it’s so easy to just hop in the elevator and push the button. However, that’s not going to help you stay in shape. Taking the stairs regularly can help build up stamina, raise your heart rate and increase blood flow, all good things for burning calories. Check out this article about taking the stairs

7 . Go for a walk with your significant other

My wife and I enjoy going for walks together. This is not a routine or something set in stone, this is just something we do from time to time that we both enjoy. We get fresh air, a chance to talk and be with each other and some exercise all at the same time. Plus, it costs us absolutely nothing.

8 . Weight training (light weights)

As I stated at the beginning of the article I myself weight train 3 times a week. I’m not huge, I’m not looking to bulk up (I started for quite the opposite reasons). Weight training using light weights is a great way to build strength, tone your body and increase your stamina. A set of dumbbells is all you need, which you can pick up for less than £30 at Argos. There are many different exercises you can perform with just a set of dumbbells so your workouts will be varied and interesting.

9 . Swimming

A visit to the local swimming pool after work won’t cost you much at all and will provide you with a great cardio workout. Swimming tones the body strengthens your heart muscles and improves the delivery of oxygen to the different parts of the body. Read more about the benefits swimming provides

10 . Eat more fruit and vegetables

We’ve all heard how we should ‘eat your 5 a day’ when it comes to fruit and vegetables, but more often than not when you’re working on a web design project with a tight deadline you haven’t got the time to prepare fruit and veg, it’s much easier to shove something into the microwave. However, by not eating these foods you’re missing out on essential vitamins your body requires. Next time you’re shopping at the supermarket buy some apples, or bananas or any other fruit you like and take some with you to work. Fruit can be a delicious and healthy alternative to a chocolate bar from the vending machine. Some top tips about eating 5 a day can be found here

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Posted in General Posts, Health, Web Design | No Comments »