5 Awesome Tips To Build Better Sites For You Or Your Customers

1 - Easiest to guess: idea. A good idea is almost 100% success. If You think best graphics or best animations are the keys You are wrong. People come to You because You've got the information they want or they search. Think of it: build an another site with the same content or build a site with a new content? Don't You want to be first? Don't want to give something new to potential customers? Even don't You want to earn some money for Your time and informations or products? Find Your niche and be the one in it. Let the people come to You.

2 - First look - very important. If I enter a site which has dark colors I'm out and never get back. OK, I return only if that site sells or promotes some kind of dark movie or horror books etc. i like or search for. But dark background isn't good idea for ordinary sites. People doesn't want to look at black sites because they pushes off. People want to look at bright sites with cool colors but not aggressive to them.

3 - Animations - irritate or not? Yes. Another important element. I like sites with flash animations but not too aggressive and not in full screen mode hiding the rest of site. I prefer small amount of animations. They should be tiny and integral parts of site. Also they must have a "skip" button to pass intro and get to proper site. Of course animations can be huge but only if they have some photos of products You sell or promote. Interactive catalog is good but flying dog chasing motocat isn't good if You don't sell pet accessories...

4 - Navigation - where's my hotel? People don't want search for anything else they looking for. Where's navigation bar? Where's site-map? Where's the coolest window cleaner I'm looking for? How can I buy it? Hello?! Damn... and never get back to You. The answer for that is simple: give him/her a search-box, FAQ, instructions "how to find", "how to buy", "how to search" etc. Think that the customers don't want to think about what, where, how etc. and You have to give them an answer to their hands. Maybe this is rude to say: "everybody are idiots" but that's a fact: they are lazy and don't want to search more they are have to...

5 - Functionality - how big is a cart? Every site must be functional. Several links and no FAQ? I'm out. Be Your first customer who's entering Your site. What do You see? Do You know everything what, where, how? What do You do if cart is full? What if You didn't find what You looking for? Is there a wishlist? Or mail-contact? Or online service? Think of it. Maybe You find there are many things to change, maybe not. Be a YourSite.com beta tester today to avoid mistakes and build better functionality.

How to Create A User Friendly Website for Ultimate Success

When creating a website, it does not matter what the size of your website, you should include a comprehensive, text-based site map, with a link taking he visitor to every page with, a short explanation of what each page offers.

Not only are site maps useful for visitors looking for specific information on your site, but they are great an excellent way for search engines to link to your website.

When designing your navigation menu for your website, use reasonable headings and link descriptions. For example, web site design services is much more perceptive to a visitor than Internet services. Use Cookie Crumbs to show visitors where they are on your site at any point in time. These are headings you often see at the top of websites and show what category and page your visitor needs to be Guided to a specific pathways throughout your site. Using a Call-to-Action link instructing visitors what page they should view can do this or what action they should take next.

There are some companies on the Internet that offer a low cost link-checking tool. Making sure that your HTML code is designed to display correctly in different browser versions. Also make sure that your site hosting provider is established and dependable to avoid any unnecessary downtime of your website.

Rely on programs such as spell check to check for errors. Also, have friends check your site copy for errors. When proofing your site, remember, that in different regions of the world have different spellings of words.

Here is where it is most important. Common sense dictates that you make sure you use a consistent design layout for each page on your site. This means using the same general color scheme, logo, and navigation menu. Use the same for the header and footer in the same location and consistent link attributes.

This way you do not confuse your visitor or cause them to become lose their interest to keep looking.

It may be redundant, but if you're going to make your site interactive with forms, newsletter, guest books, then make sure they work! Double check each form field is large enough to contain even the longest of names. When you have international visitor with a fifteen-character name, you need to have the space to enter it. When you create a field that is mandatory to fill out, mark it with an asterix.

Remember, your website is a reflection of your business, when you take the time to care for every little thing, it will show.

10 Things You Should Expect From Your Website Copywriter

As websites and electronic commerce are becoming more and more common, business owners and marketing managers are realising that quality web copy is every bit as important as impressive design. And with the ever increasing importance of search engine presence, the role of web copy has never been more critical.

But in such a relatively new field, customers are still coming to grips with what they can expect of their website copywriter. The question a lot of people are asking is, “How do I know I’ll get what I pay for?”

Before engaging a website copywriter for your next project, ask them whether they’re able to provide you with the following ten essentials…

1) Fixed Quote

A lot of website copywriters will tell you they only work on an hourly rate. They’ll cite varying requirements, rapidly changing technologies, greater incentive, the risk of customer indecision, and a host of other reasons why they can’t provide a fixed quote. But don’t be fooled. You have a right to know what the job is going to cost you. If a website copywriter won’t give you a fixed quote, think twice…

2) Contract of Works to be Completed

Just as important as a fixed quote is a signed contract. It may not be drawn up by a lawyer, but a written and signed document outlining the works to be carried out, and the cost of those works is essential. If a website copywriter is reluctant to provide a written, itemised quote including estimated number of words, you have to ask yourself why.

3) Timeframe

Always ask how long your job is going to take. If you’ve already had a go at writing your own web copy, you’ll know how time consuming it is. Never make the mistake of thinking the job will be done in a day. Granted, a professional website copywriter will be very efficient in crafting your copy, but no matter who the writer, a quality product requires time. And on top of writing time, remember that you’ll have to review and provide feedback on everything they write. In a lot of cases, it’s the review phase that takes the most time, so make sure you try to set some time aside, otherwise you’ll find yourself the bottleneck!

4) Plan of Attack

Try to get some idea from your website copywriter about how they plan to approach your project. Don’t be fooled into believing you have to hand over the dollars before they’ll reveal their plan of attack. You have a right to be comfortable with their approach before you engage their services. Will you receive individual drafts of every page, or a single draft of the entire site? What format will you receive the finished product in? How many review iterations do they anticipate?

5) Samples

A lot of ambitious web service providers of all types are calling themselves writers these days. They offer copywriting as a specialist service, but don’t engage a specialist to complete the work. Always ask to see samples of their previous copy. Read it thoroughly and ask yourself, “Does this copy convey benefits?”. Pretend you’re the intended audience and ask “Does this copy answer the questions I need answered before I’ll buy?”

6) CV

Most copywriters’ websites will give you a very high-level overview of their business and the services they offer. Some even offer samples. But very few offer a professional biography of their writers. If you’re not happy relying on their website as your sole source of information, ask for a copy of their CV. The things you’re looking for are a professional history in writing, and preferably some tertiary education in the same.

7) Testimonials

Perhaps the best indication of a website copywriter’s ability is customer satisfaction. Don’t be afraid of asking for customer testimonials. A good website copywriter will be proud of their testimonials – so proud, in fact, that they’ll be offering them without you even asking. Look for testimonials from companies you recognise and/or can verify. Anyone can get their great-aunt write them a testimonial. Some will even write their own. If you really want to be sure, ask for contact details so you can give the customer a call and hear it straight from the horse’s mouth.

8) SEO Copy Skills

Approximately 80% of all web traffic comes through search engines, so it’s essential that your website copywriter has proven experience in SEO copy. Ask them their general approach to SEO copy. Do they normally perform the keyword analysis themselves? How do they know when they’ve used enough keywords in enough of the right places? Can they show you a high ranking site they’ve written the copy for? What steps do they take to avoid diluting the effectiveness of your primary keyword phrases? Will their SEO copy change the text links on your pages? (It should!)

9) SEO Copy at No Extra Charge!

Never be fooled into paying more for SEO copy. If you’ve already performed your keyword analysis, and you know where you want your keyword phrases used, writing of the copy should take no longer than usual. I’ll say it again… SEO copy is not an extra – it’s how web copy should be written! Do not pay extra for it! The only things you should expect to pay extra for are keyword analyses, adding the HTML code for unmarked text links, providing guidance on site structure, sourcing of inbound links to your site, etc. SEO copy by itself should cost no extra.

10) Writing Experience for Online Media

Writing for an online medium is entirely different to writing for print. Readers have different requirements and objectives, and reading conditions are very different. Make sure your website copywriter knows how to cater to these differences. Ask them to recommend a maximum page length or word count per page. The correct answer should include some comment on the trade-off between the problems of scrolling and the need for a high keyword count for SEO. Ask them whether they prefer long sentences or short (and hope to hear “short”). Ask them whether they will include lots of text links within the main body of the copy, and if so, will they appear as regular links (colored and underlined) or will they be unmarked.

Professionally written copy can mean the difference between a great looking site and a great looking site THAT EARNS YOU MONEY.

Choose your website copywriter carefully.