Category: Web Design

How long has your current unchanged website been live? If you cannot remember then it has probably been too long. The average life span of a business website is usually between two to three years so redesigning your website can provide a variety of benefits for your online presence, including refreshing your brand or bringing extra traffic and conversions to less popular pages, but a website redesign is something that should be planned carefully because helpful changes to your website can boost your traffic, but changes that confuse your audience will have the opposite effect. If there has been changes in the industry that you are in then often a redesign is better and cheaper in the long run. For example, many car showroom websites are having to incorporate electric and hybrid car information, images and data on their sites as popularity grows for this new technology.

So, should you be looking at redesigning your business website or simply refreshing it by changing some of the visual elements such as colour scheme, graphics and headings? It goes without saying that redesigning the website will be more costly to the business, but it does have the advantage of improved functionality, better SEO and sometimes a new content management system which can lead to increased traffic to the site and a higher conversion rate thereby maximising potential profits. What then should the aspiring business owner be looking for when trying to decide on the best way forward? If the website is bringing in plenty of new business then it is unlikely to need to be totally redesigned and a quick refresh of themes and content may be all it needs to make sure it still looks professional however if you have noticed a fall in visitor numbers to the site and feedback indicates that parts of the website do not function well it could be time to bite the bullet and invest in a redesigned website. It is a sensible idea to analyse the old site and try to identify what works well and what needs changing as it is easy to throw the baby out with the bathwater and ditch something that is working well for something unknown. Assess the redesigned site after a couple of months to check that it is performing as it should and that you are seeing increased traffic and conversions as a result of your redesigned site.

If you are looking to have a website for a local community hub or for a local village hall for example, you may feel a little overwhelmed with the choices you have. Many web design agencies or indeed individual programmers and designers are often used to developing websites for a multitude of customers from small independent business to larger organisations. What is suitable and fit for one type of business often isn’t suitable for another. Some web design agencies may try and sell you something that you don’t need without really taking in to account what your website is going to be predominantly used for. You need to find with a web agency or individual that you can work well with and that will take the time to get to know your business. If you only want a page to be able to advertise local events and to share community news then you may not have thousands of pounds in the budget to create one. Always be upfront with your design agency and tell them if the website quoted is out of your budget as they may be able to scale it back for you to find one that is.

In this busy world in which we live it is easy for business owners to forget some of the essentials in the running of their company. One of the things that gets neglected sometimes is regular updating of the business website. We have all experienced the frustration of searching for a website only to find that the staff have all changed or that the products advertised are no longer available so it is vitally important if you want to preserve your company’s reputation that the website is regularly maintained.

In order to do this, it is well worth scheduling this in once a week or month depending on how quickly the business changes so that it does not get overlooked. In this way it should not take hours of anyone’s time and simple changes can be undertaken. If it is not possible to carry this out in house, then many web design companies can do this for you for a fee.

Another reason to keep your website up to date is the need to ensure the legal requirements are followed regarding data security. This is to keep client information secure and check that the correct notifications are displayed on the website.

The prospect of designing a website is for some daunting but whether you want to create a website for your business or for yourself the process can be made easier by using the tools and resources that are available online.

To build a website the first thing that will need to be done is to purchase a domain name. This is the web address for the website and will enable visitors to find the site. Alongside this, a website hosting account will need to be set up and paid for. This is a service that hosts and stores the website. Once these two things are in place a WordPress website can be built by simply using the guidance on the web hosting service.

As soon as your basic website has been created you can then begin the process of designing it by adding themes and colours, logos and images. There are online programmes that can help you to do this so it is not as scary as you might fear.

The pages and content of your website can now be added to the website but keep it simple initially with three or four pages at most as extra content can be added at a later date, so now you are ready to go live.

It is compulsory for each local authority-maintained school in the UK to publish specific information about their school online and so a website is necessary to fulfil this requirement. The school website is essential for parents both current and potential to stay in touch with developments in the school and access important information such as school term dates, staffing changes and upcoming events.

Keeping the school website up to date and uploading content can be problematic especially in the primary school sector where teachers have a heavy workload. The responsibility for updating the website usually falls to the school administrator who may not have any experience in this area and will therefore require training to raise their skill level.

The design of the school website ideally should be carried out by a professional web designer who can ensure that there is a straightforward way that appropriate content can be uploaded by school staff especially as many schools like to share photographs of work pupils have completed on a weekly basis. Some web design companies offer a support package to schools so that they can be contacted if there are any issues that staff cannot resolve and will carry out regular maintenance work on the website to make sure it is functioning as it should.

Your website homepage is the first encounter your potential clients will have with your business, so it is crucial that this first impression is a positive one. There are many important features of a good web design such as colour themes, choice of font, images used and text content but it is important that at first glance the visitor is encouraged to not only stay on the site but clicks through to other pages and links.
It should be obvious on the homepage the name of your brand and your company logo and this should appear on each page thereafter and serve as a link back to the homepage for continuity.
The navigation links from the homepage should be clear in the header and will give the visitor to your site a view of the content of your website immediately.
CTA buttons, that is call to action buttons should be a feature on your homepage enabling potential clients to click through to contact forms, price lists or galleries by clicking on buttons with text such as, Find Out More or View our work or simply Click Here.
Photographs on the homepage of your website can be a powerful way of showing your products or services in a positive way, as they add a sense of sincerity and trustworthiness to your business.