Indianapolis Web Design Blog

When shopping for web design, there are several important things to consider. If you are in the market for a new website and decide to go with a cheap/inexpensive web developer, you should educate yourself about these important topics.

1. Profitability.
   First, you’re in business to make money, so your website should help you make money. This means something different for every situation; whether you’re selling widgets or just looking to appear professional to casual visitors, be sure to consciously work this into your conversations with your web developer.
2. Ease of Use.
   You don’t animated need flash introductions, they are just a speed bump between your visitor and your content. You don’t need fancy navigation that reveals itself when rolled over, otherwise known as Mystery Meat Navigation, you want your audience to find what they’re looking for quickly and easily, with no guessing.
3. Appearance.
   While looking good, your website should also stand out from the web site of your competitor. This doesn’t mean to throw away tried-and-true web conventions; these are used everywhere for a reason. A creative web designer can help you obtain good usability and keep you from blending in with the herd.
4. Organization
   Avoid the clutter. Well organized content can make a huge difference. Help the visitors, don’t confuse them. Keep things short and sweet. Give every unique topic it’s own area, and keep any cross-links sensible and logical.
5. Usability
   Web usability is a fine art of sorts. You want your website beautiful, better than that of your competitor, and attention-getting; but you also want it to be easily usable. There’s a balance, but it’s always better to lean towards simplicity for usability’s sake. Here’s a simple test: when you get your designs, pass them to your spouse and have them explain to you how they think it works.
6. Search Engine Optimization
   How will people find your website? Aside from advertising, you’ll want good natural search engine ratings. Don’t be fooled: you cannot buy a good ranking or purchase a “magic bullet” solution. There are things that your web developer should be doing, be sure to ask for a search-engine-optimized website. After that, what can be done is largely in your hands: produce good meaningful content. Hire a copywriter if needed.
7. Speed
   Otherwise known as load time. How fast will your audience wait for your content? Where’s the balance between no graphics at all, flash, or a page loaded with visual candy? The answer is not black and white, it depends on your situation. Faster is always better; but various factors should be considered while designing your website. For instance: you may have a broadband audience, your content might be heavier, or there may be specific visual needs that must be met which will require a “heavier” website.
8. Ease of Update
   There is no reason why you should not be able to update, edit, and manage your own website. don’t waste your time with a static brochure site. Demand a CMS or “Content Management System” that is simple and easy to use. As I like to tell my clients: If it’s difficult to change, it won’t get changed.
9. Technology
   The technologies behind web design are a hard thing to get your mind around if you aren’t in the web development business. There are many tools available, and most of them are great when wielded by the right hands. If you desire to know the details, ask lots of questions and pay attention to the choices and reasonings being made.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 8th, 2007 at 9:21 am and is filed under Miscellaneous. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.