Keep Your Web Design Simple to Maintain
A Web Hosting Article Contributed by G. Uma Bennett
Keep Your Web Design Simple to Maintain
Design your web site with an eye to the long term maintenance that will be required. The point where you create your web design is only the beginning. There will be times where you must "refresh" your design or you may decide to give it a graphic make over, if you keep your web design simple, these changes or adjustments will be easy to do and require a minimum amount of time to accomplish.
Using a template for your web design that consists of a color palette, your logo and navigational button for your main menu is a start. Each page must work with the same functionality as the rest or else your site will appear to be uncoordinated and unprofessional to your visitors. This approach also simplifies the process of making changes to the pages.
It is a good practice to keep your scripts for your web design in an external file to prevent hacker attacks and so that the focus of your page can be devoted to the text content that search engines use to index your site.
Create a Web Design that Search Engines Love
Making your web design attractive to your visitors is based on its usability which also plays a role in how search engines deal with indexing your site. Search engine robots go to websites looking for text - this is the information that is displayed on your listing that is returned when a search is made on a keyword that you have placed in your meta tags for your site.
Where you place your main content and the words you use in your keyword and description meta tags will determine how effectively these "bots" are able to retrieve this information for their use. Rather than concentrate on making graphics the first thing people see on your site, position your content as close to the top of the page as possible and designate text descriptions to your logo in your "alt" tags.
Use a text based menu and navigational buttons instead of flash animated software generated ones.
Essential Marketing Components in Web Design
Developing a web design for business means you must keep your focus on communicating your message of your product or service offering in front of your visitors as much as possible. Some web designers accomplish this with pop-ups and slide in ads which annoy visitors. If you are smart you will use the types of marketing components that visitors look for and are willing to interact with such as contests, opinion polls and free newsletter subscriptions.
Very few people purchase goods on their first visit to a store in the real world, and it takes even longer for online shoppers to feel confident making a purchase from a website. The key to gaining their confidence is to be receptive to their needs to get to know you, the products or services you are offering and what they can do for them before they entrust you with their money.
