Category: Web Design

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Web Presence on a Budget

Websites are expensive, really expensive if you are selling something, and just plain expensive for a great optimized site. So how do you get out there if you are just starting up or just want a web presence on a budget?

Here are a few options worth considering for a budget web presence:

  • Consider a website using a template design. There are some website templates that you can buy that don’t look half bad, just don’t expect things like that to get you fabulous organic placement. Be realistic, use them as a stepping stone allowing you to walk before you run. When you can invest in a better website, but use inexpensive options to get out there. We have a program called Quick Launch that is our version of an inexpensive website. For $600 you get 5 pages with a degree of customization and the content you want.

 

  • Consider using a blog as your first website. With a myriad of blog templates and WordPress you can even create section pages. This is a simple easy way to start a web presence for under $150. This even includes an expert setting up your blog on your selected hosting server.  Creating the content and customization will be up to you, but that is a super bargain to get your feet wet on the Web.
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Are You Taking Credit Cards Online? Why Not?

Just about every website owner should be allowing online payments especially when PayPal makes it so terribly easy to help your customers pay you on time.

Some websites need a mini store, and some just need a user-selected amount payment option, but nearly every business should have a PayPal option.

When I started to do auto-billing for repeat business clients using their credit card on file with us, I cut the time that I had to track down late payments out of my work schedule. By making it easier to pay for my services not only did I get paid on time within my terms, but those who had been late payers before were able to become prompt payers with my new policies. This has allowed me to focus on selling and take less time and lower my frustration level with slow paying clients.

In fact as taking credit cards online has been so successful for my own business I now have a virtual terminal allowing me to take phone orders, repeat billing requests, and to process a client’s credit card without their intervention.

If you have a website you should really consider why you aren’t taking credit cards online. it’s easy just get your feet wet with PayPal and then if you need to look for other options after you have some success you can springboard from there.

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Don’t Defeat Accessibility on Your Website

Some people need extra help surfing the Web. Some use readers to actually read the content of a web page and others need to enlarge the text of websites using Tools >>Text Size. When your web designer creates your page design and uses a pixel size for fonts instead of a percentage or an em, you are defeating the ability for readers who need extra help to get it.

As a web designer myself I do like to have control, but now there are many new options that designers and site owners simply need to be aware of to help. One new option is to use a global style sheet that controls your fonts, font sizes, colors, and links all on one page for the entire website. Another one to be aware of is to describe font sizes in a percentage or as an em, which is the width of the letter m in any font. Using these font descriptions instead of using a pixel width description allows your reader to resize the font as needed.

Web designers need to design especially for use of font accessibility, it is not something that can be added as an after thought but rather as an integral part of a new design.

I am currently in the process of redesigning my 1221 page website and am incorporating improved accessibility features in my new website. So when you hit a website where the font doesn’t change even when you click largest font, you will now that the web designer has defeated one of the biggest tools on the Web that shouldn’t be tinkered with to help people who need it.

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Three Web Design Layout Types – Liquid, Elastic, Fixed

There are three web design layout types. Use our information below to find out which one you want to use.

Liquid Layout

This layout style resizes to fill your browser screen regardless of your screen resolution.

Fixed Layout

This is the most popular layout style on the Web. It is a fixed size determined by the web designer. It gives excellent graphics control but may make your website appear dated as larger screen sizes become more popular.

Elastic Layout

This is a new design layout. One that resizes based on on screen resolution but rather resizes based on the font size that your viewer selects to view your site.

To complicate things even further there a wide variety of hybrid layouts that are popular on the Web. Some are:

  • liquid content section with elastic left and right sidebars
  • fixed side bars with an elastic content section
  • fixed side bars with a liquid content section

My own business site is currently done as a fixed layout. I am currently in the early stages of redesign and am leaning toward a liquid content block with elastic sidebars with padding around the whole container.

Choosing the layout style for your website is best not left to the novice but to the web design professional who can discuss which option is best for your viewing clientèle and type of content you will be displaying on your website.