Why use a web designer? 6 of 6
It’s not just a case of putting images and text together with a little animation. How the website is written both in the pages itself and in it’s ‘back end code’ (the stuff you can’t see) plays an important role as to how your website is found in the first place.
You need to think carefully about who your audience is and write your content based around that - the fundamental of any marketing project and a ‘marketing project’ is what your website is.
Google is very clever, and gone are the days when putting’ Harry Potter’ in your text, just because it’s a well used search phrase, gets your website to page one in the search engine rankings. Nowadays a website’s content is scrutinised by software known as spiders or robots who grab the information from your web page and through complex algorithms index it to make sure it ‘does what it says on the tin’. These same Spiders are responsible for giving your website the page one ranking you desire, and with a few simple rules you go some way to achieving that.
Why use a web designer? 5 of 6
A wireframe (something similar in layout to a family tree) allows us to build your website so that the end user will be able to navigate around your company or organisations’ details with little or no fuss. It will ensure nothing is missed in delivering the desired message to your potential clients or customers.
It plays a major part in the web designer’s knowledge of your business, so we can advise on the best delivery of your message and, in turn, allows you to understand how your website can work for you – something we feel is very important when embarking on any new website project. If you can see simply, how your website is going to work, without the boring jargon, you can use it to it’s full potential and therefore help you achieve your decided goals.
Why use a web designer? 4 of 6
A magnificent display of some of the best pictures you’ve ever seen. And they’re put together so cleverly in a sleek fading animation. You can’t go wrong with that! That is, unless the user viewing your website has come onto it trying to find some shoes for his wife for her birthday and really doesn’t have the time to wait for this to load, and to find the button or section that says… ‘Shoes for my wife for her birthday!’
Yes it seems harsh, but this really is something to take into account in your initial structure and where beauty or ‘noise’ has taken president over the actual point of your websites structure by putting the ‘call to action’ second over an arty design flair. This website is an E-commerce website and it’s idea is to sell shoes.
Why use a web designer? 3 of 6
You know the sayings; “First impressions last’ and ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’. Well they apply to websites too. In fact they play a massive role in deciding if your website will achieve the goals set out in your marketing plan.
A client landing on your home page for the first time makes their mind up in seconds as to whether they are going to explore more of your website, read the content and follow your carefully placed ‘call to action’ areas.
You know this is true just from the amount of time you will spend on any given website before you decide if it’s worth your time. Cast your mind back to the last time you booked a holiday on line, and quickly moved onto the next website, and the next website, that was more pleasing on the eye, easier to navigate and displayed the information in the best possible way for your booking needs. You didn’t hang around did you? This then is how any of your prospective customers or clients will view your website.
Why use a web designer? 2 of 6
Many good print designs are heavy on the graphics producing punchy and eye catching results – nothing wrong with that, especially as a website must also achieve an eye catching design. The problem arises when the page isn’t structured specifically for the web and the people producing the design for you aren’t website minded to maximise usability and page efficiency.
As web designers, we must take into account the size of an image or video and how long it will take to download. We must decide the best place for the menu and ‘call to action’ areas. On a billboard poster it’s fine to put important information along the bottom of the design as it will be seen by the viewer, but on a website this may not be visible on screen.
