Web Design Miami Weblog

July 14, 2008

Four Critical Web Design Rules

Filed under: Web Design — Will Jay @ 11:34 am

Custom Web Design
When creating a new website or redesigning an existing site, there are four critical rules which the designer should follow to make the site effective and functional - and successful.
web hosting

1. Easy to Read
web development

When building a website, the first thing you need to be sure of is that your website is easy to read. When you write content, remember that most web site visitors don’t read every word of a page - in fact, they only scan pages to find what they want.
web designing

Break up Your Content
design web sites

Break up your pages and use headers between major ideas so people scanning your site can find what they want quickly. Use meaningful headers between each paragraph or major idea - this helps with SEO. Headers should be created with the H1 through H4 tags for SEO. Always use good writing structure. Additionally, avoid long paragraphs that run on. You should break up any long paragraphs.
custom website

Color and Fonts
Custom Web Design

To help readability, use high contrast colors between font and background. Black text against a white background may seem stark, but it is very readable. To make a website easy on the eyes, try an off-white background and a dark gray (almost black) text color.
web development

Things to avoid with content color:
web hosting

Avoid vibrant background colors like purple or yellow. Such back colors make text difficult to read.
custom website design

Avoid using an image behind your text.
custom website design

Avoid using bright text colors on bright backgrounds.
freelance web designer

Fonts Matter
web page design software

One simple statement covers the font issue:
Professional Web Design

Simple fonts are the best; the more fancy the font, the harder it is to read.
how to design a web page

Since many browsers only have the standard font set, use standard fonts. In reality, there is no “”standard”", but there are certain fonts that are installed on most browsers. These include Arial, Verdana, Tahoma and Times New Roman. Your readers will see something different than you see if you use other fonts.
web designing

Standard Compliant Browser for Development
website design and hosting

When developing and testing your site, use a Standards compliant browser like FireFox. If you develop your site to be standards compliant, it will work in most browsers, including MS Internet Explorer (IE). It is recommended that you test your site using the latest and last browser versions of IE (IE6 and IE7). To run multiple versions of IE on the same machine, TredoSoft has a free installer that will install multiple versions of IE. It works great!
florida web design

2. Simplify Navigation
web page designer

The menus and links make up the navigation that the visitor uses to get from page to page in a site. Always plan a site around how people will get from page to page. A visitor to your site should be able to get to what they want within three clicks of their mouse.
custom website design

Multiple navigation points makes it easy to find things. Repeat the top menu and at the bottom. Also create a left or right menu.
website design services

Using links within your text to other areas on your site. You can create links so that they are good for search engine optimization (SEO). There are generally two ways to create links within your text:
web page design software

The wrong way: “”For search engine optimization techniques, click here.”"
web design business

The right way: “”Good techniques for search engine optimization are important to use.”"
Web Design Company

Using link text (anchor text) that describes what the link is about is the best way. Search engine web crawlers (programs that automatically index the contents of websites) visit your site, they “”read”" links. Spiders can index descriptive links into a subject or keyword category. Spiders have nothing to work with when reading a “”click here”" until it reaches the linked page.
web page design software

This is Cross Linking - use it as much as possible when it makes sense to do so when writing your content.
custom website

3. Consistent Design
online web design

At most, one or two layouts should be used in your site design. As a reader browses your site, they should be able to get used to looking in the same place for your navigation, for your sub-navigation and for your content. That’s all there is to say about that.
logo design

4. Lower Page Weight is Better
web design business

Page weight is the total size of a page on your site in bytes - code, text and images. Your site’s page weight makes a big difference to your viewers. Lighter page weight is better for your readers because the page will download faster. The faster a page downloads, the faster they will get to the content.
design web sites

What is Means to be Light
web site designers

No large images. (unless the site’s purpose is to showcase images, art or photos)
good web design

Fewer images are better.
web design consulting

Optimize images for the web at no more than 72 dpi
web design service

Use as small an image dimension as possible for the given design.
affordable web design

Use a table td bgcolor attribute or a background-color style attribute for solid color backgrounds.
online web design

Make gradients horizontal or vertical (not diagonal) so that you can use a small image “”strip”" and repeat it.
ecommerce web design

How “”Heavy”" Should a Web Page be?
web page designer

Certain studies show that 64K is a good maximum webpage size. 64K is a maximum, however it is still, in my opinion, really big! The smaller the page, the better. 25K is good, 15K is even better. There is a balance between design and function. It is a good idea to focus more on function.
real estate web design

Try putting pages on your web host server as you build your site so you can test it as you go. For pages online, you can test the page weight to be sure you are on track.
web 2.0 design

Ways to make pages lighter:
design web sites

Use linked style sheets
beautiful web design

Use DIVs instead of TABLEs where possible
church website design

Use simple repeating backgrounds for effect
Small Business Web Design

Summary
design web sites

Visitors to your website should be able to find what they are looking for within about three clicks. Making a site easy to read with consistent page design, and easy to navigate will make it easy to find information. You will be on the way to building a readable, effective, functional and hopefully successful website if you follow these rules.
Website Designer

Web Page Design

Small Business Web Design

Filed under: Web Design — Will Jay @ 1:19 am

web design tutorial

Is your business ready to be part of the internet? In need of a quality web site, but need to find a web designer to fit your budget? Your web site will become your new online store for others to see. When It comes to the internet appearance is everything so it is important to have a web designer that cares about you and your company.
how to design a web page

When it comes to web design it is very important that you pick the right person to design your site. Taking your business online is just like opening a new store for the first time. The more you put into it the more you will get out of it. Your web site is everything when it comes to the internet. If it doesn’t look professional you are losing business right from the start. People want to be able to trust and depend on you and your business or whatever it may be. Seeing bad web design is a turn off for almost all customers. Good web design is a key part of starting off on the internet.
open source web design

You may now ask your self how can you find the right company or web designer to do the job. This is a big step in the process of starting a online business. First you have to look at what you are willing to spend what type of budget you may be on. You will see company’s offer to build web sites for 1000s of dollars. Others may be a little cheaper. See what each company offers.
web page design software

What I have come to find is that company’s over charge for there web design and graphic design. Giving time you can find a web designer that can do the same work for a very low cost. I myself find that the best work is done by those that are self employed web designers. These people have the skills it takes to design a quality site but are not out for your money.
web design help

So when starting your new business chose the right web designer for you and your company. And do not over pay for web design.

About the author:

Chris Rohrer

I am a graphic and web designer who has seen the other side and knows the tricks of the trade you could say.

http://www.crxgraphicdesign.com

Copyright 2005 Chris Rohrer
Author: Chris Rohrer

July 9, 2008

Create a High-Quality Website – Quickly!

Filed under: Web Design — Will Jay @ 8:12 pm

web design tools

If you are a business owner and want to expand your clientele and market-share, and create a place where potential and current customers can go to learn more about your company and easily find contact information, what you need is a website. If you are a small start-up looking to begin an online venture, you need a website. And most likely, you want to achieve your business goals within a reasonable time frame and for a reasonable price, without skimping on quality. After all, you need more than just visitors to your website. A successful business requires visitors who turn into paying, repeat customers and trust your company. The best way to do this (in addition to offering a quality product or service) is by producing a professional website.

web design tools

In the past, online businesses were given little choice when it came to creating a high quality website. You could either hire an expensive professional web designer or web design company to make the entire site for you or you could produce the website on your own. The first choice would cost you big bucks – anywhere between $50 and $200 for only one web page! The second option required at least a small knowledge of HTML and design elements as well as a large chunk of your time – something most business owners don’t have.

web designs

Luckily the times have changed and web entrepreneurs have a lot more choice when it comes to creating a professional website with or without all the bells and whistles (depending on the type of site you plan on having). In fact, a growing trend in website design is the use of ready-made website templates.

web page designer

What exactly is a template?

best web design

Website templates are basically ready-made web pages that you can download from a template design company. The HTML code is ready to go – all you have to do is choose a template that suits your business and customer base, download it and then edit according to your specifications. Most companies showcase all the available designs on their site for you to preview before downloading, so you’ll know exactly what you are buying beforehand.

Web Page Design

A website template is almost like a hybrid creation, perfect for online businesses because it is so flexible. With a template you have the best of both worlds – the professional image and functionality that normally come from a website designed by a hired designer coupled with the affordability and flexibility of a DIY web design project. One such website template company that offers reasonably priced, quality templates.

Web Design Companies

Once you have the basic design in your hands, editing is a cinch. Editing involves adding your own content, logos, pictures, graphics and more to the template to make it unique. Keep in mind that a template will not usually come with ready-made content or other features, as this is something that must be created afterwards. Good website templates can be edited with a variety of popular HTML editors, so make sure you purchase website templates that mention the editing programs with which the templates are compatible. Search for website templates that can be edited using software such as DreamWeaver, FrontPage, GoLive and Photoshop. Most people either already know how to use these simple, user-friendly editors or can learn very quickly.

Web Designers

Another option is to have someone edit the template for you. If you really have no clue when it comes to web design, even with a prepared template, most website template companies also offer a custom design service. This keeps the cost down, which is the main benefit of utilizing a template in the first place, while still letting you enjoy the perk of having someone else do the editing.

design a web site

The Price is Nice

Website Design

Arguably, the most popular selling point of website templates is the price. For as low as $20-$40 you can purchase a template that looks just as good or better than a “professionally” designed site costing you much more. Many web designers charge thousands of dollars for website creation that simply isn’t that good. And working with a designer takes a lot more time – hence the hefty price tag. You have to work back and forth over a period of several weeks just to come up with a design that works best for your company. Website templates are much more cost-effective to produce, which is how the prices are kept so low. And of course, you save time as well as money. You can literally have a website up and running – earning you revenue - within a few days or less. Website templates make setting up your online business as easy and efficient as possible.

design a website

Flash Websites

Website Designer

What if you require more than a simple, straightforward website? Perhaps you want a flash-based design for your site? No problem – flash website templates can also be purchased for a decent price without sacrificing quality, simplicity and usability. Many template designers offer a wide range of template styles, so don’t fret if you require something a little more complicated than the average website. Website template designers offer the consumer a lot of choice, making it easy to create a website that will work for your business.

web design pricing

In addition, businesses that want to buy a template no other website will use in the future (a unique site) should purchase a copyrighted template. When you opt for a copyrighted template you receive all rights to the site design and can be sure it will not be re-sold to another business. On the other hand, the rights of non-copyrighted templates remain with the template company, and as a result, anyone can buy the same one. If this won’t interfere with your business buy non-copyrighted templates and save some money, but if you want an entirely unique site, spend a little more for a copyrighted site that won’t be found anywhere else on the web.

ecommerce web site design

Whatever you decide to choose, website templates are the future of web design. You can’t go wrong – nothing could be more cost-effective or simple.

Four Critical Web Design Rules

Filed under: Web Design — Will Jay @ 7:15 pm

eb design and development
When creating a new website or redesigning an existing site, there are four critical rules which the designer should follow to make the site effective and functional - and successful.
web design firms

1. Easy to Read
web page design software

When building a website, the first thing you need to be sure of is that your website is easy to read. When you write content, remember that most web site visitors don’t read every word of a page - in fact, they only scan pages to find what they want.
open source web design

Break up Your Content
Web Design Companies

Break up your pages and use headers between major ideas so people scanning your site can find what they want quickly. Use meaningful headers between each paragraph or major idea - this helps with SEO. Headers should be created with the H1 through H4 tags for SEO. Always use good writing structure. Additionally, avoid long paragraphs that run on. You should break up any long paragraphs.
low cost web design

Color and Fonts
Web Design Companies

To help readability, use high contrast colors between font and background. Black text against a white background may seem stark, but it is very readable. To make a website easy on the eyes, try an off-white background and a dark gray (almost black) text color.
Small Business Web Design

Things to avoid with content color:
Web Design Services

Avoid vibrant background colors like purple or yellow. Such back colors make text difficult to read.
Small Business Web Design

Avoid using an image behind your text.
Small Business Web Design

Avoid using bright text colors on bright backgrounds.
web design pricing

Fonts Matter
Web Design Company

One simple statement covers the font issue:
florida web design

Simple fonts are the best; the more fancy the font, the harder it is to read.
free web design software

Since many browsers only have the standard font set, use standard fonts. In reality, there is no “”standard”", but there are certain fonts that are installed on most browsers. These include Arial, Verdana, Tahoma and Times New Roman. Your readers will see something different than you see if you use other fonts.
real estate web design

Standard Compliant Browser for Development
business website design

When developing and testing your site, use a Standards compliant browser like FireFox. If you develop your site to be standards compliant, it will work in most browsers, including MS Internet Explorer (IE). It is recommended that you test your site using the latest and last browser versions of IE (IE6 and IE7). To run multiple versions of IE on the same machine, TredoSoft has a free installer that will install multiple versions of IE. It works great!
online web design

2. Simplify Navigation
simple web design

The menus and links make up the navigation that the visitor uses to get from page to page in a site. Always plan a site around how people will get from page to page. A visitor to your site should be able to get to what they want within three clicks of their mouse.
website design services

Multiple navigation points makes it easy to find things. Repeat the top menu and at the bottom. Also create a left or right menu.
professional website design

Using links within your text to other areas on your site. You can create links so that they are good for search engine optimization (SEO). There are generally two ways to create links within your text:
design a web page

The wrong way: “”For search engine optimization techniques, click here.”"
how to design a web page

The right way: “”Good techniques for search engine optimization are important to use.”"
web redesign

Using link text (anchor text) that describes what the link is about is the best way. Search engine web crawlers (programs that automatically index the contents of websites) visit your site, they “”read”" links. Spiders can index descriptive links into a subject or keyword category. Spiders have nothing to work with when reading a “”click here”" until it reaches the linked page.
real estate web design

This is Cross Linking - use it as much as possible when it makes sense to do so when writing your content.
web page design software

3. Consistent Design
basic web design

At most, one or two layouts should be used in your site design. As a reader browses your site, they should be able to get used to looking in the same place for your navigation, for your sub-navigation and for your content. That’s all there is to say about that.
web design help

4. Lower Page Weight is Better
low cost web design

Page weight is the total size of a page on your site in bytes - code, text and images. Your site’s page weight makes a big difference to your viewers. Lighter page weight is better for your readers because the page will download faster. The faster a page downloads, the faster they will get to the content.
florida web design

What is Means to be Light
web site designers

No large images. (unless the site’s purpose is to showcase images, art or photos)
how to design a website

Fewer images are better.
website hosting

Optimize images for the web at no more than 72 dpi
small business website

Use as small an image dimension as possible for the given design.
web site design and hosting

Use a table td bgcolor attribute or a background-color style attribute for solid color backgrounds.
website developers

Make gradients horizontal or vertical (not diagonal) so that you can use a small image “”strip”" and repeat it.
church website design

How “”Heavy”" Should a Web Page be?
design a web site

Certain studies show that 64K is a good maximum webpage size. 64K is a maximum, however it is still, in my opinion, really big! The smaller the page, the better. 25K is good, 15K is even better. There is a balance between design and function. It is a good idea to focus more on function.
Web Design Companies

Try putting pages on your web host server as you build your site so you can test it as you go. For pages online, you can test the page weight to be sure you are on track.
low cost web design

Ways to make pages lighter:
basic web design

Use linked style sheets
website designers

Use DIVs instead of TABLEs where possible
best web design

Use simple repeating backgrounds for effect
web hosting

Summary
custom web sites

Visitors to your website should be able to find what they are looking for within about three clicks. Making a site easy to read with consistent page design, and easy to navigate will make it easy to find information. You will be on the way to building a readable, effective, functional and hopefully successful website if you follow these rules.
web design consulting

Web Design Companies

Create Your Own Website: A How To Guide

Filed under: Web Design — Will Jay @ 5:43 pm

web design and development
Nothing is as invaluable as a website when it comes to airing your ideas, authoring opinion pieces, distributing photos, or marketing your business products. Having your very own website can be a boon to you, but there are a few things you should know first before setting out to create your own website
Web Design Services

Decide why you want to create your own website. Do you want to let others know of your political leanings, do you want to write fiction, or are you looking for an online store? Each of these will lead to a different kind of website, and each will have a different audience.
web hosting

Next step is to determine how comfortable you are with web page creation. If you are not proficient in computers, try to hire a professional. If, on the other hand, you enjoy learning how to do new things on the Internet, then using a free or inexpensive do-it-yourself type of hosting should be enjoyable.
ecommerce web design

You need to determine what level of control you desire. Utilizing the free hosting will provide you with a few different background colors and styles. If you have further needs or wants, you may have to pay additional fees, or even use the services of a professional.
html web design

Another thing to consider when you create your own website is to choose a template. Many free hosting vendors have a variety of templates that you can choose from. You can decide which colors and style will be most attractive to your future audience. You will probably be able to alter the template in minor ways, but the overall style will remain the same.
open source web design

You will want to think about obtaining a domain name. There are many companies that sell domain names. If you want to make a website, you will need software. This software will help you design your website, and it is important if you want to control a lot of different areas of your site. It is possible that you will need some knowledge if you want to make a webpage from software.
logo design

If you don’t know what to do first, choose one of the free step-by-step instructional guides found on the Internet outlining how to create a website. For other ways to learn about how to create a website (), many e-books are offered that incorporate free HTML tutorials, website software, information of registering domain names, guides to website design, and more.
web design and development

how to design a web page

About the author: Tem Balanco

A personal website can really increase your audience. Determine the purpose of your website before you create your own website (). When you create a website (), consider using a template. A lot of free hosting companies will have several templates to choose from. You will need a domain name. There are many companies that sell domain names. If you want to make a website, you will need software. This software will help you design your website. If you need help creating your website many e-books are offered that incorporate free HTML tutorials, website software, information of registering domain names, guides to website design, and more

10 Terrific Tips for Web Design Beginners.

Filed under: Web Design — Will Jay @ 5:02 pm

custom website design
When embarking on the daunting journey to web design enlightenment it can be hard to know where to start. This short article is intended as a road map, outlining the significant tips all aspiring web designers should be made aware of. If you follow each of the following tips you will be well on your way to web design nirvana. However, you may possibly be an intermediate, or, hold your breath, advanced web designer – well if that is the case, be humble my good friend, peruse the following tips and you may surprise yourself and pick up a thing or two. So saddle up to your computer chair, make yourself a coffee, drink some chai tea if it tickles your fancy (it’ s certainly not my cup of tea), assume the full lotus position and prepare to be digitally enlightened.
Web Site Design

– TECHNICAL TIPS –
web design tutorial

1. LEARN XHTML - Extensible hypertexts Markup Language.
open source web design

If you don’t already know, XHTML is the ‘markup language’ that every individual web page is made out of. Right click on your screen, and click on view source. Feel like Neo already? Yes, that’s right folks; every web page you view is simply a plain text file full of code stored on some dudes computer (sometimes otherwise known as a web hosting server).
how to design a website

Don’t be scared, XHTML is quite possibly the easiest programming language you can learn, so easy in fact XHTML isn’t technically classed as a programming language. Don’t take the ‘red pill’ and learn Dreamweaver – it may seem the easier option at first, but being completely honest once you learn XHTML you can create web pages in half the amount of time than it takes to in Dreamweaver, and you have more control over the final layout. Additionally, Dreamweaver adds quite a lot of unnecessary code and as a result increase the file size of the page, slowing down the loading time for all those poor sods still on dial up Internet. You can write XHTML code in a plain text editor, such as notepad, or notepad++ ( my favorite), however word processors such as Microsoft Word are entirely unsuitable.
real estate website design

If you’re rich, unlike me, pick up a cheap ( recent) XHTML book, otherwise browse Google for XHTML tutorials, or head over to http://www.w3. org/MarkUp/Guide/ for a brief introduction to writing XHTML by Dave Raggett.
website design companies

2. LEARN CSS – Cascading Style Sheets.
website redesign

Stop torturing you with all these programming languages you say? Don’t fret my friend, CSS is only a little more advanced than XHTML and most books on XHTML also cover CSS. CSS is the language that controls things such as the co lour, background images, font attributes, and so on. The beauty of using CSS is you can control the aesthetic features of multiple web pages with a single CSS file.
ecommerce web design

If you would like another wonderful online tutorial, head over to http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/ Guide/Style for a brief introduction to CSS, by Dave Raggett also.
web designing

3. LEARN PHOTOSHOP.
Web Design Software

All web designers know how to use Photoshop. I was actually born with a Photoshop watermark on my upper left thigh. If you are aspiring for a web design career you are going to need to learn Photoshop, hell – even my Nan knows how to use Photoshop. So Google away for Photoshop tutorials, or browse your local library to spice up your Photoshop skills.
web design programs

The best piece of advice I can give you is to make up all of your web page designs in Photoshop first. Once you are entirely happy with the design start slicing and dicing your photoshop file for the images you will need, and coding the web page in XHTML and CSS. This saves stuffing around with markup code unnecessarily; it’s much easier to make changes to layout and colors, etcetera, in Photoshop first.
Web Design Services

4. USE CSS INSTEAD OF TABLES FOR YOUR DESIGNS.
Miami Web Design

If you already know a thing or two about web design you are probably sick to death of hearing about using CSS instead of tables for your layout. Well I’m going to give it a brief mention anyway’s for all those web design n00bies out there. Use CSS to control your layout, don’t use HTML tables for your design. Tables add tons of unnecessary code, are time consuming and expensive to make changes to once the site is completed, and only affect the layout of the single page you are working on – as opposed to using a single CSS file that affects the layout of any page you want. Don’t bust your knuckles by typing the same code over and over again.
how to design a web page

5. USE VALID XHTML AND CSS.
custom web sites

Valid XHTML and valid CSS is code that validates with the World Wide Web Consortiums coding rules. There is plenty of information on how to ensure your code is valid over at http://www.w3.org. It is important to keep this in mind, as most web design employers will not touch web designers with a ten-foot clown pole unless their code adheres with the standards of the W3C.
css web design

– THEORETICAL TIPS –
design web sites

6. LEARN ABOUT GRID THEORY.
web design firms

Grid theory is basically the design theory that suggests that works of art are more aesthetically pleasing if they adhere to some sort of grid that controls its layout. Additionally, the rule of thirds, which is a theory that is related to grid theory, (it’s sort of like the relative that no one wants to speak to at family functions because of a foul and unpleasant body od our), suggests that designs are even more aesthetically pleasing if their visual form can be divided into thirds. When designing web pages in photoshop, I always start with a grid first to ensure my layouts align to the grid.
Web Design Company

7. LEARN ABOUT TYPOGRAPHY.
Web Design Companies

Typography can be defined as the study of fonts. Learning about typography will teach you when and where to use fonts. Learning about letter spacing (kerning as they like to call it), line height, the serif and sans serif font categories, and more, you’ll have a truly lethal understanding of fonts in your web design arsenal.
custom website design

It is important to keep in mind that there is only a small range of fonts that will display in people’s web browsers, so don’t rely on primarily using custom fonts in your designs, unless you plan on saving them all as images which can drastically increase the file size of your web site. Site visitors aren’t going to download custom fonts just to view your website the way you want them to, even if you are super polite. If you stick to using the following fonts for the actual text in your web page, you will be safe: Arial, Arial Black, Comic Sans MS, Courier New, Georgia, Impact, Times New Roman, Trebuchet MS, and Verdana. If you want to be an extra lame nerd like me, you should print out all the variations of these fonts (in bold, italic, different sizes, etc) and stick it on your wall.
Web Design Services

8. LEARN ABOUT COLOUR THEORY
affordable web design

Before I continue any further I must offer one small piece of advise. Please please please do not email me and tell me that I have spelled ‘ co lour’ wrong. If you do so, I will slap you with a salami. Every time I write one of these articles I seem to get at least one email from a silly sausage that doesn’t realize words such as ‘ color’ and ‘optimize’ are spelled differently in different parts of the world. Well, on with the show.
design a web site

Co lour Theory, is, well, the theory of colors There are many theories on how to choose a nice co lour palette, and these will help ensure your web site won’t have the appearance it was designed by a co lour blind… blind-man. Without getting into too much detail, one nice co lour scheme to use is a monochromatic co lour scheme. A monochromatic co lour scheme is a selection of colors that features a co lour (lets say cerulean blue), tints of that co lour (cerulean blue with more white), shades of that co lour (cerulean blue with more black), black and white colors (yes black and white are classified as colors my learn-ed friends).
website designs

A nice little tool to help you choose your co lour scheme can be located at http://wellstyled.com/tools/colorscheme2/index-en.html. Mmmm, free tool.
web design tools

9. GET INSPIRED
web designing

Browse the net for good web designers, don’t steal their designs, but analyses their designs and try to figure out what fonts, co lour scheme, grids, and photoshop techniques they are using. A simple way to use this is search for web design in Google, and browse the portfolios of the top web design companies that come up in the search results. Digital art and poster websites also serve as good inspiration.
graphic designer

However you don’t need to restrict your sources of inspiration to the Internet. On the rare occasion when I venture out of my web design cave to eat something other than baked beans on toast, I like to analyses what grid, co lour scheme, and font types that restaurants like to use in their menus. But hey, put me in a sack and throw me down a river if you think I’m just crazy.
website hosting

10. PRACTISE PRACTISE PRACTISE
freelance web designer

I shouldn’t have to say this but practice whenever you can. The more you practice, the sooner writing XHTML and CSS code will become a second nature to you, and you should also practice utilizing the information from the various theories I have just mentioned too.
ecommerce web design

A good tip would be to make one web page template a week and submit it to http://www.o s w d .org and other online free web page template directories. It’s a great way to improve your skills, and develop a nice little portfolio too.
web designing

Well that’s just about it for today, my avid readers. I hope the useful tips in this article have helped you well on your way towards web design enlightenment. If you need more information on any of the topics I have mentioned please don’t forget that Google and Wikipedia are your friends. And finally, please, never let yourself forget ‘There is a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path’.
logo design

Features of a Good Design

Filed under: Flash Website Design — Will Jay @ 1:34 pm

Design web sites
Text

website design services

Text is big enough to read. Background does not interrupt the text. The content is clear. You need to identify what you want to achieve with your website.

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Navigation

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Your website should be easy to navigate. Every page should be consistent and easy to understand links back to other pages. It should give visitors context and help them to find quickly what they are looking for on a website. Without proper navigation a website becomes just a jumble of content. Navigation is even more critical for large websites: in fact, without proper navigation, the larger the website, the less usable it will become. Navigation design is thus a critical function that must be carefully planned and implemented.

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Navigation buttons and bars are easy to understand and use. Navigation is consistent throughout the web site. Navigation buttons and bars provide the visitor with a clue as to where they are, what page of the site they are currently on.

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Graphics and designs

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True images, animations and designs are one of the important elements because somehow this makes a site more fun and less boring. But excessive use of this elements would just make your visitor get irritated so limit your animations and images because content and clear identified goal still matters.

Web Site Design

Buttons are not too big.

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Every graphic link has a matching text link. Graphics and backgrounds use browser-safe colors. Pages download quickly.Good use of graphic elements (photos, subheads, pull quotes) to break up large areas of text.

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Links

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Link colors coordinate with page colors. Links are underlined so they are instantly clear to the visitor. Appearance is not the most important issue. Its “accessibility”, “usability” & “search engine visibility” is more important. If possible, consider doing a couple of other things like, making web pages on the Internet fully “accessible” and “usable” to all users, especially those with disabilities, speed up your website, make it easy for prospective customers to find what they are looking for, make your “web design” easy to navigate.

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Emphasing a Product with Monochrome Graphics

Filed under: Flash Website Design — Will Jay @ 12:23 pm

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Nothing stands out better on a website then a product image in full color while the rest of the image and site are monochrome (shades of gray).
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Let me give you an example of what I mean. Let’s imagine that you have a new client who is a musician, and they just cut their first music CD. You have someone take a high resolution digital photo of your new client holding the CD. With me so far?
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Open the high resolution digital photo in your graphics software program and carefully outline just the product (the CD in this scenario) with the free hand selection tool of your software. Nearly every graphic software program has this option; you just have to know where it is and how to find it if you are not familiar with your software’s features. Do a search in the help section of your software if you don’t know where to locate it. We’ve included a few suggested search keywords at the bottom of this article to assist you.
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Now invert your selection and apply a monochrome filter. Inverting means that rather than selecting what you initially outlined, you want to select the opposite of that selection which is everything that you did not select.
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Now look at what you just accomplished with little to no effort. You can use this image as a splash page intro or for the main product photo. What better way to promote a product then de-emphasizing everything but the product and with a photo of the person who developed it? Cool idea? Why not suggest this technique to your next client who has a product they want to sell.
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Check out two web templates we have developed in the past with this concept. One of them has an option for a package of swap-out graphics that utilize the same effect.
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Monochrome Web Templates:
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Try the following keyword searches within your graphics software to find the tools used in this mini-tutorial: “select”, “invert”, “invert selection”, “monochrome”, “monochrome effect”, “monochrome filter”.
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Important Note: Do not confuse monochrome with grayscale. There is a big difference. That big difference is the number of gray colors in each type of file. Grayscale is a compressed file size that has most of the grays stripped out and leaves you with a minimal amount of gray shades (8-bit). Monochrome on the other hand is True Color (24-bit).
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After this article is published I hope to see many websites published in monochrome emphasizing a product. If you develop a well-designed site using this concept, let us know at B a s i c T e m p l a t e s.com, and we’ll link your URL within this tutorial.

Web Designing Development

Filed under: Web Design — Will Jay @ 8:12 am

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A decent website is a pre-requisite to online business these days. But if you want your website to offer something more, something different then others then it has to be different. Your website should attract the visitor’s attention so much so that he stays on to explore your site and returns again and again to get information about your offers. This type of advanced & dynamic website design and web design development requires high level of skill and expertise in this specialized field.
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Mosaic’s enterprising young team of web developers is a pool of talent; impatient to give you that customized service you were looking for. These skilled professionals well versed with the intricacies of the web development tools like PHP, HTML, DHTML, .NET, ASP and others give the right balance of design and functionality to your website. They design and develop the website considering the basic tenets of web design & webdesign development like readability, easily download, user friendliness and an attractive design. The mosaic team creates attractive & effective webdesign development solutions to cater to your specific needs and special requirements. Your website is created using the latest technologies and uses the latest coding standards for code customization at a later stage. The web development processes are also optimized to give your website greater ROI. A vigorous quality analysis is maintained throughout the web development process to provide the website with exceptional quality.
Small Business Web Design

Mosaic team can add functionality to your site like a shopping cart or can change your static website to dynamic or it can even provide an application with a web interface for you. The various web development services offered are e-commerce, application development, database development and custom programming etc. The company offers webdesign services besides a complete range of LSI based SEO services. You can even get a free website analysis to check what additional functionalities can be incorporated into your website to enhance it. In case you know your requirements, you can request a free quote for a detailed proposal from the renowned web development India company http://www.technology.mosaic-service.com . Mosaic services also offers other advertising, marketing and technical services that cater to your marketing and promotional needs at competitive charges.
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Visit the site http://technology.mosaic-service.com to get details about the various other services offered by the company and to solve any web design and development related queries. You will surely get more then your expectation from one of the India’s finest web development company.
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About the author: Miss Ruchira Sharma is a very well known author and she writes articles for http://www.technology.mosaic-service.com.

Author: Ruchira Sharma

Questions to Ask when Designing a Website for clients

Filed under: Flash Website Design — Will Jay @ 7:12 am
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Questions to ask when designing a Web Site for your client (s).
“Excerpt from the book: Graphic Artists Guild, Handbook Pricing & Ethical guidelines Written by: Brent Parker
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These questions are a great tool to use when trying to develop your clients website. It gets down to the roots of web design, so there is a clear and precise understanding of what needs to be done. You can either make yourself a check list on paper for face to face talks or you can put it into Adobe PDF form, and have them download it from your website and fill it out later. It may seem odd at first, but in the long run it works out perfectly.
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GOALSWhat is the client’s business and how will the client’s Web site advance it? What message is the Web site supposed to convey?Who is the primary audience for the Web site? The primary age group of the audience? Their professions, disciplines, and interests? (Designers should warn clients that if the target is a broad-based, international audience, with potentially slow modems, old browsers, or expensive service, this might limit the design options.)What are the secondary goals of the Web site? Is this an informational site or an avenue for internet-based marketing or revenue?What subjects, in order of priority, does the client want to cover on the Web site? Have the client define at least five separate area of subject matter and state what’s unique about their business.
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ONLINE EDUCATION Does the client understand the difference between the Web and an online email service such as America Online? The answer to this question is an indicator of the clients overall Web knowledge. If the client does not understand the difference, the designer may want to factor in time for basic Internet educationDoes the client require a Web hosting account and/or dial up access? How many users? What user privileges would the client like?Is the account only for email or does the price quoted allow for server space to host a Web site? How many megabytes of server space?If the client already has an Internet account, is it with a true ISP or with an online service such as America Online? If the account is with an online service rather than a true ISP, extra costs or special arrangements may be needed to host the Web site.
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PLANNING Who will give final approval of the project? If someone other than the clients’ team will have final approval, then the designer needs to make sure that person has Internet access and understands the Web.What domain name would the client like? (.com, org. net etc…) What are two to three alternative domain names in case the first choice is already taken/Are the client’s source materials in electronic form, and if so, does the designer need to handle file conversions? The designer may need to educate the client about how to submit materials in as consistent and compatible formats as possible. If necessary, the designer should provide the client with a variety of options and be prepared to do conversion’sDoes the site required advanced functionality, such as database functionality (Access, Filemaker Pro, Microsoft SQL, Oracle Server)? Does the site need to be coded in a special language such as Microsoft ASP or Allaires Cold Fusion?Are there requirements for e-commerce, such as the ability to process credit card transactions, development of Shopping Cart strategies, survey forms, advanced configurator sales selectors, online games and interactive demonstrations, online chat and message boards?Is the site to be hosted in-house or with another provider? If in-house, the clients information services department should be included in the planned meetings.
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DESIGN Is the website to be designed from scratch, or is it a makeover of an existing site? If a makeover, does the client want any additions?What look and feel would the client like for he Web site? The client should show the designer examples of Web sites, magazines, publications, or artistic works they like. Does the client have a specific genre, culture, or style in mind?Are there any collateral marketing materials (brochures, publications, corporate identity programs, or posters), preproduction sketches, or media (CD-ROM’s, video games, records, or tapes) that the Web site should be consistent with?Does the client desire graphics interactivity and/or multimedia (also involving content development and site mapping)? These typically include JavaScript rollovers and effects, animated GIF’s QuickTime or AVI movies, sound files, PDF downloads, Macromedia Flash animations, and interactivity.Does the client need a new logo or new collateral marketing materials and media to be consistent with the new Web site? If so, these design services should be quoted in addition to and not as part of the Web site proposal.Does the designer wish to negotiate a credit link that targets his or her home URL or email?
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FOLLOW UP Does the client have the staff to respond to email? If not, the designer may need to explain that the client may develop a bad reputation in the online world if people don’t receive immediate responses.Does the client plan to have in-house site maintenance, or does the client want the designer to do it? Designers considering site maintenance arrangements should look carefully at the ability of their own organization to do at least biweekly of monthly changes

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