Things You Should Avoid When Designing a Website

Being a web designer/developer for over a decade, I have seen everything when it comes to website design “The good, bad and ugly”. Designing a website that produces results takes a lot more than just a good looking site. It is the combination of visual appeal and all the things going on behind the scene that make the difference between success – and failure.

11 tops mistakes made – when designing a website.

Think about your target market – who are you building this website for – you or your clientele. Make sure you target market will be drawn to the design of your website, not be repelled by it. If they don’t like what they see – they will be gone before they read the copy.

1. Are you designing your website when you don’t have a clue? If you are not a “designer type”. Hire someone to design a really good looking site – do not throw up something that looks amateurish.

Leave it to the experts – at least the initial design and implementation. Looking professional is one of the most important things you can do. It doesn’t have to cost you, an arm and a leg – this is your business. Always remember, first impressions are lasting impressions.

2. Optimize your images so they load fast and look good. If a web page takes more than 15 seconds to load – the visitor will be gone. In fact, Google (just this year) is ranking websites on how fast they load, so be aware. Another tip, do not compress your graphics to much – it will cause them to look pixilated and unprofessional.

3. Make sure your navigation is direct and straight forward. It should take no more than 3 clicks for your visitors to be able to get to anywhere they want to go on your web pages. Make sure your navigation is direct so people know what pages they are accessing.

4. If it takes longer than 4 seconds for a visitor to understand what your business is – then you are in trouble. A visitor does not really care how wonderful you are in the beginning. They are usually looking for an answer to a problem or concern. You need your home page to be direct and to the point – providing your visitors with “what is in it for them”.

5. Use a font that is universal. Did you realize if you use a font that is unusual in the body of your website – it will not show up on a computer that does not have that font? It is replaced with another font that may not look the same as yours? This will cause you website to look a lot different than you think it does, this can be a major problem. Tip: Verdana is an excellent choice when putting in your page text – it was developed for easy reading on the internet.

6. Do you have color derangement syndrome? Don’t let it happen to you! If you do not have a clear color pallet, you have multi-colored text and mismatched shades of color on your website – your website looks terrible. A good rule of thumb is to stick with 3 complimentary colors, unless you are building a tribute to the 60’s psychedelic generation! Make sure you have the proper “RGB” colors. There are so many websites that can show you complimentary colors and different color pallet you shouldn’t have to stress, you are not on your own.Not all colors look the same on all computer monitors so be careful.
7. Make sure your website designer knows how to SEO your website. What is SEO? It is search engine optimization, not all web designers are created equal – find one that will optimize your website so that search engines can find your website and place it on the top of their directory. Not everyone has tons of money to advertise – and this is one thing all good websites should have – proper optimization.

8. Have a way to collect your visitor’s information (often called an auto-responder). You need to capture the names of people who come to you website – how are you going to contact them otherwise? Most people who go to a website do not buy the first or even second time they visit. If you offer them something of value for just an email and name, they are motivated to sign-up for the free information or gift. You then have permission to contact them when you have new information – a special or something of value to tell them about.

9. Do not develop you website using the latest and greatest programming language (unless you need it). A simple. .html web page is perfect for 90% of businesses. You can add other programming language elements right in the web page – you do not need to spend a fortune (and it does cost a lot more) to get a web site developed. Make sure the person you are working with isn’t pulling your leg when they suggest you need a fancy, smancy website – that in the long run, will not give you what you are looking for, but will drain your bank account.

10. Splash pages may look cool but are they practical? I am a designer and love the look and feel of a beautiful flash page. I like the movement in the design – but a flash interface or splash page is not picked up or indexed by search engines. Getting exposure everywhere you can on the internet should be one of your top priorities. Tip: Placing elements of flash in your website gives you the same beautiful look and feel without compromising your valuable marketing opportunities.
11. Have a good analytics program to monitor your website. My favorite is Google analytics the code is free and all you have to do is register and place it on your pages (or your webmaster does). Once the code is placed properly you will be able to see who accesses your site, how long they stay, what pages they go to and much much more. One of my favorite things to see is from what parts of the world my visitors come from - it is fabulous!

If you have any questions or I can be of service don't hesitate to email or call! (801) 910-4825

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design

Providing Creative Solutions and Valuable Results

Don’t Fall Victim to Dishonest Web Developers

A Disturbing Trend

Yesterday I had a phone call from a person who was quite frustrated about a website he had a web professional do for him (that is what they called themselves – I beg to differ).

He had a basic website built and now could not get that person to send him any information on how to update it (no password, login or ftp) – nor was he informed on the very basics of the site its self.

That in its self is disturbing –, but as I looked into it for him, I came to find out that the domain name was not registered in his name but that of the business who built it for him. He did not even own his domain name –, and it is his family name.

This website was not a website at all but a Word Press blog. That isn’t a big deal except, he was led to believe that this was a website, on top of that it was built with a Word Press Theme template.

Consequently, no custom banner was ever involved, he was being led to believe it was custom, and this web business was being territorial about what??

This enrages me, it gives all web designers/developers a bad name – and I for one hope that none of you go through anything like this. As a result, I am writing this article to warn you.

Please be sure that whoever you choose to do a custom website for you – actually will do a website – if they want to do a blog as a website you need to know.

If you want a blog set up that is great but just be aware of what you are paying for.

What are you paying for? A template is a template is a template right! WRONG… When talking about a template with a potential web designer make sure that you differentiate what you are talking about.

Some templates that are sold –are not actually custom. You may be buying a template that a 1000 other people have with some custom features like – different website copy etc.

Some templates are semi- custom – these will be furnished with a different banner – your original copy and possibly some other graphics that are bought by you or the developers.

The templates that are truly custom, – are not always called templates you own the whole website - the design, concept, and copy. The whole website is yours and only yours.

No one will have a website like yours because it is one of a kind. You own the copyrights to it – you own the original graphics that are developed.

This can be true for blogs as well as website. As I have talked about in a few of my previous articles – make sure you do not – let me repeat – do not – put all you eggs in one basket.

How to Protect Your Business

I suggest you register your own domain name – I like godaddy.com – they are easy to register with, and you can transfer your domain name to any host. They are also inexpensive, but beware of the pop up screens that ask you to buy everything under the sun most of the time you only need the domain name – by pass the rest.

Host with a different provider – I like “Hands On Web Hosting” – they are prompt to answer my questions, I can set up my own emails, I love the staff – knowledgeable and customer service friendly.

If you want a cheap template that is customizable - hire a web designer/developer to help you customize it and upload it to your host – when you buy it from a host it is tied to the host… If you can afford it have a custom website – it is well worth it in the long run, and it is YOURS…

You do not want to be in the situation where you have everything done by one company.

Picture Yourself in this Situation

Scenario: You found a company that does everything – registers the domain, builds your website, sets up your emails and even hosts the website for you – WOW. How convenient is that!

Everything goes along smoothly and you are happy happy happy… Then something goes wrong – your email is not coming to you like before. You try to get a hold of them, and they do not answer. Your emails are you life blood, your income …

What do you do? You decide to take the bull by the horns and move to a different host – What happens when they own your domain name, or the custom template you bought isn’t custom at all and owned by the company, or what happens if they refuse to cooperate… Unfortunately, this happens a lot.

My Story

I had a host that I had used with for 5 years – they were great, you could contact them on the spot, and then with out my knowledge they sold the company – change of owners.

Everything changed, they would accept only email communications – that were not answered in a timely manner - I became really unhappy with the host, and I moved.

However, I had set up my business the right way and transfer everything without a hitch or hiccup.

Heed My Warning

Educate yourself before you jump in and decide what you want for your business – make sure you can trust the people you work with – that they are interested in your business success not just the bottom line – money in their pockets.

Find a professional that can answer your questions – remember, there are no dumb questions, especially when you are building a business.

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design Check out my sites at: http://linkbun.ch/6ymj

Just a Little Reminder...

I know most of us have at one time or another been told to “White List” an email and probably been told how to do it as well – but if you are like me you forget how to do it and when you write it down and put that important paper in a safe place, the paper is put in such a safe place you cannot find it ever again!! Because all emails are not created equal – and each of the email clients you use do use a different system to prevent those important emails from being thrown into the spam folder I am (as a public service - LOL) publishing how to white list... Preventing Important Emails from going into the Spam Folder... Whitelisting - or adding the email publication's email address to your Address Book - is the best way to ensure its delivery to your inbox. The process is simple and takes only a few seconds to complete. Gmail 1. Open the email. 2. Click "more options" in the email header. 3. Click "add sender to contacts list." Yahoo! 1. Open the email. 2. Click the "add to address book" to the right next to sender's name. 3. Verify the sender's contact details. 4. Click "Add to Address Book." Outlook Express (6+) 1. Open the email. 2. Left-click the sender icon or right-click the sender's name. 3. Click "add to contacts." 4. Click "save and close." Outlook 2003 1. Open the email. 2. Right-click the sender's email address. 3. Click "add to contacts" on the short-cut menu. 4. Click "save and close." AOL 8.0 1. Open the email. 2. Click "add address" icon. 3. Verify the sender's contact information. 4. Save it. AOL WebMail 1. Open the email. 2. Click on the sender's name or email address. 3. Click "add to address book" in the window that appears. 4. Enter any additional information. 5. Click "save." Hotmail 1. Open the email 2. Click "save address" in the toolbar. 3. Verify the sender's contact details. 4. Click "ok." Earthlink 1. Open the email. 2. Click "add to address book" in the email header. 3. Use the "address book editor" to verify the sender's contact details and click "save." Entourage 1. Open the email. 2. Right-click the sender's email address. 3. Select "add to address book" in the short-cut menu. 4. Verify the sender's contact details. 5. Click "save." Mac Mail 1. Open the email. 2. Ctrl-click the sender's email address and select"open in address book." 3. Verify the sender's contact details. To your success! Pamela - Artista Design

WOW what a good idea! (Not)

Now I may be a little prejudice, but I must tell you when I get these ads that say: You can now do your own website – get rid of you web designer do it yourself – or – Build a website yourself; we give you all the tools – or - Host with us, build your own website and updated it with our new super duper template builder (only $100. a month, ugh!). I cringe, on the surface it sounds really good. Why not save bundles of money doing it yourself – after all you are on a limited budget. However, I have had too many new business owners that have gone through that route and came to me with disastrous results. Let me explain myself. Building a website is like building your store (brick and mortar). Now if I sent you an advertisement stating – build your own store, I will give you all the tools, and you will save a bundle on having a professional builder do it. You think WOW, that is a good idea – you pay me my $49.95 and I give you the tools to do it. When you look around, and you see all the saws, hammers, nails, cement mixers, wood, brick, sheet rock, pipes, etc. laying there in a pile would you know what to do? Even if I gave you a 300 page book with directions – are you up to the task? Of course not – unless you are a contractor that has had the extensive experience of building offices before. OK then let’s say you see all the stuff and think – I will just get some more books on how to build an office building… Do you genuinely think that would be the thing that would give you the expertise to know how to build an attractive – store inside and out? Then you realize you have to buy the lot to build the store front on. Then you have to do the signage… This may sound like an exaggeration but makes my point. The time and effort you would put into building your website – doesn't mean you are good at creating the look and feel that your clients would be attracted to. What about making sure that you site is a marketing machine? Do you know how to build that type of website? Do you know how to collect names from your visitors so you can market to them? Your website should give a professional presentation – the appearance layout and content should be done with the help of a professional. There are places to cut expenses and your website is not one of them. There are millions of web designer – but not all have the gift of design as well as the extensive experience to know exactly what you need in order to make your websites a viable commodity. Your best bet is to find a designer that you have confidence in – you know they are familiar with all aspects of an e-business and can guide you in the right direction. Hire a professional that has been in the industry long enough to know what it takes to have a successful website. When you hire the right professional web designer/developer you're not only getting an expert at building an effective on-line presentation, but the guidance they give you will be invaluable.

Take a Deep Breath

Everyday when I go to my email I am bombarded with fantastic offers, once in a lifetime report's and never to be offered again information … I myself am guilty of putting time limits on offers and sending them out – real genuine offers. Offers that shouldn't be passed up… But even I must admit I have gotten to the point where I don't want to open 99% of my email… If it is a client or an adviser that I am truly following great if not it goes right into the trash… Are you on information overload? Is your day spent scouring zillions of emails and trying to find nuggets of gold in them their hills? How many of you find that as you are browsing through your email looking at the great offers – reading (must have) information your day is gone, and you really have not accomplished anything with your business? What are you really after? I assume in reality it is to have a successful business, retain previous customers and honestly attract new clients. I believe this is true no matter what your business is. How long has it been since you have really looked at your business, analyzed it and decided what you really need and where you want to go? How many of you have gotten so caught up in learning the latest and greatest (make 2 zillion dollars this month) thing to come around the pike that you failed to diligently maintain the business you have, you have been chasing the elusive secret that will bring you unprecedented wealth and fortune? And all the while your current business is slipping through your fingers? Pulling it together and settling down with the truth can be a sobering task… Making sure you stick with what is working while learning what will grow you business can really be a challenge. As someone who has to constantly learn, research and study all the newest and greatest marketing and development techniques (and has a firm grasp on what it takes), even I get to the point I just feel frazzled and fragmented with all the information floating in my head… I too have to remind myself to do the following… Take a step back, take a deep breath and don’t forget your core business practices, extraordinary customer service and the thing you have done that provided you the great customers you have now. Find a some really good resources and successful business people you know are ethical and will tell you the undisputed truth, not fill you full of hype and false promises. Follow them and what they have to teach you… Most of all constantly remember your core values, use your gut instincts and get out there and give it all you've got… Pamela Jacob Artista Design

I thought it was a good idea... What do I do now?

I am always getting e-mail from business owners who, in their crunch for time have opted to conveniently go to a host/web design/web development/domain registrar all rolled into one…

Not a good Idea!

Let me tell you why, this is just my view, but it is an educated one. I have dealt with many, many business owners who have been burned. They now have to deal with the difficulties of redoing mistakes that didn't have to occur in the first place.

Many business owners who are brilliant at what they do are also clueless when it comes to the Internet and all the things that must be done to develop a website, register a domain name and host that website.

On the other hand, they may know enough but want the convenience of a one stop shop, so they can be free to operate their business.

Sound like a great idea right! WRONG…

Reasons why you “SHOULD NOT” put all your services in one basket.

Mistake #1 ************************************

When you register a domain name through a host you are at the host's mercy.

Unless you know what you are doing – the host that registers your domain name may actually be putting it under their name - you are not the domain name owner you are actually “renting” the name. Scenario, you register your domain name with a hosting company and find that you do not like the host – your website has a lot of down time – you cannot get the emails to work right etc.

You go shopping for another host – then you find out you cannot transfer the domain name, and you have built your business using that name … That can be devastating – you have worked so hard to build your business what now?

Let's say they just don't want to transfer the domain name, don’t release the domain name and play games. Where do you go?

Well, that is the 24 million dollar question.

Solution: Register your domain name with a service like godaddy.com. They have inexpensive domain name's, you have complete control over where you point those names and host your website.

If or when you find you are unhappy with a host you have chosen, find another host and re-point that domain name, with no interruption to your business

Problem solved.

Mistake # 2 ****************************************************

Scenario, You have found a host that also designs. They will design your website inexpensively. So you have the host put together the website for you.

Guess what – you more than likely will find that you do not own the website, the website you get will have to stay with that host, you cannot transfer it… On top of that – a lot of these hosts will give you a brochure site that is not a true marketing site.

Let's say initially you are happy with that small static website, then you get educated and realize you need more and want to market to your visitors. You want an auto responder, and you need to build an online data-base. That is when you will pay - they usually charge you an arm and a leg to update your site.

You end up spending more and you may find your so called custom site is actually a cookie cutter site that is customized (the same site as other businesses just a different banner).

Solution: Find a web developer that can converse with you about your needs. If they are a true professional they will have no problem helping you with questions you may have about hosting, domain registration, auto responders etc. Make sure you are comfortable with the individual you are thinking about hiring.

Don’t mistake – arrogance with knowledge. Do make sure you have an experienced professional, someone who knows the tricks of the trade, a person who understands how to build a marketing website, with knowledge, who will know how to really help you reach your ultimate goals.

When you pick the right professional they will be willing and able to direct and guide you. Educate you on how to build your online business, helping you to break down the costs and work within your budget. If you can’t initially afford to get the whole thing done in one shot – it shouldn’t be a problem for your web developer to build your website in phases.

Make sure you are working with the designer/developer themselves, and you are not working with the sales rep.

Mistake # 3 ****************************************************

Scenario, let's say you have found a host that allows you to build and design your own website. How cool is that!!

Sorry to break the news, but let me remind you – most of you are not designers!

Seriously, most business owners do not have the talent or the knowledge to design a website that will look professional. Most of these programs that allow you to build your own website are very limited in what they can do. You have to use their graphics and banners.

On the other hand, you have to be a graphic designer to know how to design and upload your own graphic, on top of that these hosts are usually very expensive.

So what should you have done?

Solution: When you realize you will be hosting your website (basically forever) at such a high monthly fee – you will realize you can afford to pay a professional web developer to build a beautiful site you will own, pay a host a small amount each month and save a lot of money.

Get my drift?

I could go on forever telling you horror story after horror story - but the bottom line - in essence, - be careful, do your home work, make sure you are working with a credible professional.

One option you may want to consider is hiring a consultant/project manager that knows the ropes.

This profession should be seasoned and have worked with the internet - someone who has been in the business and knows the ins and outs, someone who can outline your options and give information that will lay a solid foundation for your business.

Someone you can trust to guide you to make the right choices…

To success beyond measure - and friendships that last a lifetime...

Pamela Jacob - Artista Design