web design

There are now a myriad of platforms, applications and programs used in making our website templates dynamic. In addition to plain old HTML there are also CSS(Cascading Style Sheets), SSI(Server Side Includes) and PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) just to name a few. In addition Flash animation is also used to accentuate the elegance of our Flash site templates. Making the decision to use our template customization services will definitely save you a lot of cost and effort however there is one other thing you’ll want to consider. And that is, which customization package should you choose? In other words should you go for a Flash based Website or is it more practical to stay with HTML? In the following article the author examines some of the pros and cons of using Flash vs HTML. For a more in-depth discussion on this particular matter see also - Top 10 things Flash developers don’t want you to hear

Flash-based sites have been a craze since the past few years, and as Adobe compiles more and more great features into Flash, we can only predict there will be more and more flash sites around the Internet. However, Flash based sites have been disputed to be bloated and unnecessary. Where exactly do we draw the line? Here’s a simple breakdown.

The good:

Interactivity
Flash’s Actionscript opens up a vast field of possibilities. Programmers and designers have used Flash to create interactive features ranging from very lively feedback forms to attractive Flash-based games. This whole new level of interactivity will always leave visitors coming back for more.

A standardized site
With Flash, you do not have to worry about cross-browser compatibility. No more woes over how a certain css code displays differently in Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera. When you position your site elements in Flash, they will always appear as they are as long as the user has Flash Player installed.

Better expression through animation
In Flash, one can make use of its animating features to convey a message in a much more efficient and effective way. Flash is a lightweight option for animation because it is vector based (and hence smaller file sizes) as opposed to real “movie files” that are raster based and hence much larger in size.

The bad and the ugly:

The Flash player
People have to download the Flash player in advance before they can view Flash movies, so by using Flash your visitor range will decrease considerably because not everyone will be willing to download the Flash player just to view your site. You’ll also have to put in additional work in redirecting the user to the Flash download page if he or she doesn’t have the player installed.

Site optimization
If your content was presented in Flash, most search engines wouldn’t be able to index your content. Hence, you will not be able to rank well in search engines and there will be less traffic heading to your site.

Loading time
Users have to wait longer than usual to load Flash content compared to regular text and images, and some visitors might just lose their patience and click the Back button. The longer your Flash takes to load, the more you risk losing visitors.

The best way to go is to use Flash only when you absolutely need the interactivity and motion that comes with it. Otherwise, use a mixture of Flash and HTML or use pure text if your site is purely to present simple textual and graphical information.

About the Author
About Design9x.com
With extensive experience Design9x a leading Professional Web Design Studio delivering high Quality and Affordable Web-based Solutions. Design9x specialize in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Internet Marketing Website Development and Consulting to increase Traf

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In addition we gave you 5 already functioning examples of the ideal Web 2.0 designed site and introduced our Web 2.0 templates and how this new product category features all of these characteristics and more.

Further we entreated you to consider the convenience and practicality of obtaining professional template customization.

So why should your small business website design matter? In this article Louise Meers uncovers a number of reasons why fundamentally sound design principles like contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity are so instrumental to retaining new business.

Article: Flashing before your eyes is a fluro green background teamed with red writing, white borders, a cutesy cursor graphic and the promise of ten free CD’s. No, it’s not Christmas. It’s bad design. Let’s face it, in the day and age where people are more likely to search for your business online than pick up the Yellow Pages - design matters. But why?

The consumer will judge you
Type “badly designed websites” into Google and you will understand immediately. There are pages and pages on this subject citing some very worthy examples. A badly designed website can say a lot to the consumer about your business. Potential customers or clients may think a badly structured website means a badly structured business.

An unprofessional design could prove exactly that - the consumer may think your business is unprofessional or untrustworthy, especially if your website doesn’t exhibit clear authenticity. Consumer judgement can cost you. Not only could your website be shamed for employing bad design, but you will inevitably lose business as well.

Bad design is bad for business
Websites with bad design will lose hits. Online businesses with bad design will lose customers. Ever logged on to a website which was hard to navigate or was bad on the eyes? Chances are you closed it, frustrated because you couldn’t find what you were looking for. Now imagine how many times that website would have been closed because no one had the patience to find badly placed information or that elusive home button.

Or it could have been that the website was just a huge visual turn-off. Whatever the reason, it will not reflect highly on your business. Today’s average person doesn’t have the time or the patience to decipher his or her way through a poor layout. Most likely they will take their business elsewhere.

So how do I know if it’s good?
Good website design is intuitive - it knows where the user wants to go and allows them to get there with ease. It has accessibility for all groups. It’s inoffensive both visually and in content. But most importantly, it doesn’t get in the way of you selling your product.

Graphic designer Robin Williams says contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity are crucial to any good design:

Contrast: website content needs to be distinct and shouldn’t just blend into the background. Professionals in the design industry are very aware and able in this area, creating websites for you that will meet your criteria, as well as that of your customers.

Repetition: like store design, where you place items is extremely important. For example, if your company logo is at the top of the page, it needs to be at the top on every page. Design professionals know exactly when and where to repeat important information on your website so that it will successfully promote your business.

Alignment: every element on the page should be there for a purpose. It can be tricky to figure out what information to include and how it should appear on your website. Again, this is where the professionals can really help.

Proximity: information that is similar should be grouped together, also like store design. This is good for organisation, and for business. Professionals can design a website for you that looks great and gets you those sales with cleverly placed text, graphics and links

Without the CRAP principle (bad acronym but good theory) and other design techniques that professionals incorporate into their work, a website will sink, not swim. There is a definite art to website design and getting contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity, as well as other essential design criteria, to all work harmoniously is no easy feat.

Okay, it does matter
Design matters because it’s going to positively promote your business and help you make those all-important sales. Don’t let your website end up on webpagesthatsuck.com and don’t let it drive potential customers and clients away. Leave it to the professionals who know exactly what is good for you and your business.

About the Author
Louise Meers is a guest writer and media advisor for Bergan Blue. She comes from a journalistic background while having a strong love for the web - a perfect combination for Bergan Blue, a small creative web development firm focused on bridging the gap between the online world of the web and the traditionally offline world of marketing.

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In a previous post, Is Your Site Search Engine and User Friendly, we discussed a number of ways to make your site both search engine and user friendly. Essentially the whole idea is to ensure that your site helps users find their content easily. In other words, is the content organized in an easy-to-read hierarchical layout? Are we using HTML links on every page? Moreover, do your pages contain relevant information that clearly and accurately describe your focus and is that text clear, crisp and legible? In this article we will learn how to apply that same practicality focusing primarily on the home page.

The most important part of any home page is the upper portion; the part that is viewable without having to scroll down to look at what else is included on that page. It is tempting therefore to cram everything you can into that top portion, to ensure that all the important stuff can be seen as soon as the page loads.

But this can be a big mistake. In this world of graphics, content and images, less really can be more. Our ever increasingly impatient society has an attention span which stretches to mere seconds, not long enough to scan and digest even a fraction of what many people try and cram onto their home page.

It’s advisable therefore to go back to basics and make a note of what your website is really all about. What do you want your visitors to get from it? What is the single most important message you want to get across? What would you like your visitors to do? Sign up for a free newsletter? Click through to other pages on your site?

Whatever actions you would like your visitors to perform, you need to make sure they are visible and accessible on that first screen. Don’t overcrowd your home page; instead, make sure you have a nice clear and clean border around that sign up box you have for people to fill in and join your email list. It will stand out more and get a better response if you do.

When you are planning or redesigning your home page, think about adding smaller blocks of easily readable content, rather than adding a long article that would be better saved for another section of your site. Don’t overwhelm people as soon as they arrive, let your home page point towards other areas of interest, while remaining clear and simple to understand itself.

Creating a good home page that converts visitors into sign ups and encourages them to explore the site in more depth takes time and experimentation. It is certainly an ongoing process, but each improvement you make will have a direct bearing on how well the site performs as a whole , so it’s worth persevering.

About the Author
Pro Wordpress Themes is a collection of high-quality, professional Wordpress themes designed by world-class graphic artists and made available to download free of charge. To download a free Wordpress theme please visit Free Website Templates.

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Intro: In the last article “Top 5 Design Principles Behind Web 2.0 Templates” I talked to you a little about Web 2.0 templates and how one of the characteristics of Web 2.0 are central layouts. In this article we discuss the pros and cons between liquid layouts vs fixed width commonly know as central layouts. The author Moe Tamani explains what both design layout really mean and examines the best approach for you to use on your website.

As every experienced web designer should know, there are two types of layout that you can choose from when designing web pages. One is the fixed width layout and the other is the liquid layout. The fixed width layout sets the width of the web page at a specific value, no matter how wide the viewer’s internet browser window is, whereas liquid layouts adjust their width depending on the width of the visitor’s browser window. The choice between these two layouts is not always an easy one and we will explore in depth the factors that will influence your final decision.

Fixed width layouts mean that you have a preset width which you will design the rest of your web page around. The main advantage of this approach is that it gives you greater direction and control over the eventual organization of your web page. Fixed width layouts are best used with print backgrounds, because these help maintain a consistent appearance even across different internet browsers and operating systems. In a liquid layout, however, the overall layout of your page is a percentage function of the size of the browser window being used to view it. They are useful for maximizing the use of space provided by any screen resolution or browser window size. Web designers who are tasked with conveying as much information as possible in a limited amount of space will often choose a liquid layout. It is important to both you and your web design company that you understand which layout would suit the needs of your client better.

Which layout you eventually choose will greatly affect the final look and feel of your web site, not to mention the functionality of the site. The ease with which visitor’s can scan through your site for relevant information and identify the content that they wish to find is largely dependant on your choice of layouts. It is thus absolutely essential that you understand the needs of your client and the kind of website that they want you to build in order to design a web site that reinforces the marketing strategies of your client. Your web design company is also likely to stress the importance of choosing the right layout when you take on any projects.

The Web Design Benefits and the Drawbacks The pros and cons of each layout type are listed below, so you will be able to make a better-informed decision regarding which type of layout you should use for a particular project.

Fixed Width Layout o Pros * Pages that you design look exactly the same when viewed using any internet browser or operating system. * Images and other non-textual objects will not overwhelm the textual content of the page, regardless of the size of the browser window or viewing monitor. * The scan length of your pages stays constant no matter how wide the viewer’s browser window is. o Cons * Viewers using smaller browser windows or monitors to view the site will probably have to scroll horizontally to see the entirety of the page. This tends to annoy online visitors. * A large amount of whitespace is usually generated when viewers use large browser windows to view the site, resulting in wastage of otherwise useful space. Also, more vertical scrolling may be required than should be necessary. * Font size changes can adversely affect the overall layout of the page. Large increases in font size can cause the layout of your page to become distorted, making it messy and unappealing.

Liquid Width Layouts o Pros * Layout adjusts its size to fit any browser window size. * All the available space in the browser window is utilized, enabling larger windows to display more information while not compromising the viewing experience using smaller window sizes. * You can achieve consistent relative widths, ensuring that your web page can accommodate your client’s varied design requirements such as font size changes. o Cons * Liquid layouts do not allow you to fix the width of the page and other elements on the page, making proper organization difficult in some situations. * Columns containing text may become either too wide or too narrow for comfortable viewing of the text. * Fixed width elements on the page may not be correctly displayed. Some browsers may attempt to correct for a lack of space for fixed width elements by increasing the width of the element, thus disrupting the order of the other elements in your layout.

Often, the best approach to use is to use both types of layout within the same web site or even within the same page. The type of layout you use may be dependent on which part of the site you are currently working on. A good example is fixing the width of the central column of the page so that text contained does not become distorted while allowing the layout for the rest of the page to be liquid, making viewing of side-bars and other elements more flexible. With practice and diligence, you will eventually learn the best combination of both layouts to use in any situation that you encounter.

About the Author

Moe Tamani is a SEO web design consultant Dallas Web Design.

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