Did you ever think about why models are used
in ads? The reason is simple: because people like to look at them. For as long
as there has been advertising, consumers
have made a positive association between the aesthetically-pleasing model
and the companys product or service.
Web sites are the models for your products andservices. There is a positive
correlation between your conversion rates and the look and usability of your
Web site. High-quality
Web design can provide a great looking site that is user-friendly and will attract business
and increase sales.
Models have genetics to thank for their attractive exterior. Think of
a Web
design service as the genes of your site. Depending on their abilities,
they have the means to make your site into a masterpiece or a disaster. You
cant choose your parents, but you can choose your Web
design service. There are a number of things a Web designer can do to
make your business more
attractive. Lets take a look at some:
The
About Us Page
This page is very important to a Web site, but often neglected.
This not only tells the browser who you are, but also what you can do for
them. Tell your potential consumers why your site will be useful to them.
You want
visitors to know the
value of your site.
URLs
The Web addresses of pages may be changed once they are moved within
a site or archived. A business will be risking better search engine placement
if they
change their pages URLs. The Web
design should construct the site so
that pages can be archived
without changing the address
Content Dates
Web browsers want to see fresh content. Novelty keeps the customer
coming back. Like offering new products or services, a Web site should offer
new content. Putting dates on the content will give visitors a frame of reference
in relation to the content. It is also good Web
design practice to have
an
indicator of when the last time
your site was modified somewhere on the homepage.
Dating your information also helps with credibility. If you have certain
information that has recently been refuted, having the date on your content
will give a reader a time frame. Any inconsistencies between what is stated
on your site and what is recently published elsewhere can be accounted for.
Links
and Content
Having plenty of links and content is good, but they are better
if organized. Writing content for the Web is much different than writing for
other written mediums. Browsers do exactly that -- they browse. It is necessary
for your Web
design to break information into headings, subheadings, and bullets.
The same is true
for links. It is great to have more in-depth information available via links,
but make sure they are organized.
Images
Images are great to use--sometimes. Images work well to ameliorate branding,
but they must be used in moderation. Images used to better illustrate
content or placed as guides to the reader are warranted and useful. Having
too many images in your Web
design could make pages load slowly and obscure text.
Page Titles
The titles on Web pages are extremely important. The titles are
used to rank relevance in relation to a browsers search and keywords in
the pages
title. It is best to keep the titles under 64 characters, place keywords
in the front,
and make the title for each page as specific as possible.
Conclusion
Savvy Web
design can
do wonders for your site. The design of your site is an endeavor that a business
cannot afford
to neglect. The time and energy invested in the look and use of the site
will return many times over.