Web Design - The Making Of A Successful Website

There are websites and then there are successful websites. The difference between the two is that successful websites are pleasing to the eye, functional, user-friendly and serve their purpose. Web designing is an art - an art that is worked on, on several different levels, layer by layer, to finally emerge as the perfect web design.

The first step in web designing is identifying the purpose of the site. A web designer must first find out why a website is being set up in the first place. Is it to promote a product, service or company? Is it to share articles? Is it to be used to build an email list? Is it to be used to educate readers? There are several ways a website can function and there are several reasons behind why a website is created. Whatever the reason may be, it is this reason that will be the foundation or the building block of the website.

Researching other companies and websites that offer what this website is going to offer is the next step. The competition is tremendous on the Internet and for a website to function successfully, it has to be unique. Researching gives the web designer a chance to find out if there is something new that could be added to this website that the competitors have missed out on, thereby giving this website an advantage over the competitors.

Using all the material collected so far, a very basic site map is drawn out. This is very much like a blueprint that is drawn out for a building. Changes that need to be made are rectified at this stage. Once the site map is approved of, the actual web designing begins.

It is now time to breathe in a little life into the website by coding it to make it functional. These codes are written along the guidelines of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and embedded into the templates that will be used for the website. The templates that are now coded are then run through as many browsers as possible to make sure they are accepted and function properly in all these browsers since each of these browsers will read and interpret this website in its own unique way.

The exciting part now begins. The content which includes text, pictures, fonts and colors are inserted into the website. These need to be approved of by the client. Any changes in the content need to be done now before the website goes up for further testing on a test server.

The last stage, before it goes live, is to test it further on a server to make sure the entire website is functional. Once approved of over here, the website is ready to go live.

What Do Website Design And Home Decoration Have In Common?

Developing a website is a tiny bit similar to home planning. You might want to think about where to place your items in relation to the area you may have plus in regards to the additional elements on the webpage, and you should contemplate both pragmatically and in relations to appearance. This then means you ought to meticulously look at the structure of each element on the web page and look at lots of different combos before deciding on what look you're going to stay with.

In spite of this, selecting how to deal with the aspects on your web site is frequently a lot easier than selecting how to proceed when you don't have enough standalone elements. Quite simply, after you have depleted all of your various graphics, buttons and pieces of text and they are all setup on the web page. What do you do if there is yet still a significant chunk of bare area on the webpage. Here I will take a look at how to make the most effective use of that web space and present a few different options for you to experiment with.

Your Twitter Feed

Putting a Twitter feed on your site provides extensive value in numerous ways. For starters, this is outstanding promoting and advertising for your Twitter account alone, and this can help you get more supporters that you can then ultimately target. On top of that, doing this will make certain that your website never ever appear fixed or go without any changes. While it will not consequently improve your website positioning, it will ensure your website visitors recognize this is not a site or a plan that has been abandoned.

Mailing List

A mailing list is considered among the most beneficial additions to any web site as it gives you a huge range of prospective future customers or shoppers that you could market to directly. This helps to make returning guests of them, or better still, motivate them to shop for an e-book an additional product. Additionally, be sure that you include some kind of inducement like a cost-free e-book that can make them likely to essentially sign on. In any other case it's just forfeited space.

Significantly more Advertising

You do not yearn to stack your web page up with advertising campaigns of course, and doing this can nowadays get your webpage reprimanded and forced down the SERPs by Google. However, if you want to involve more promotion, and hence possibly profit from your site more, you can still accomplish this in numerous ways. This can be realized by selling your own merchandise, or offering an affiliate item. Just do not make your web page look too hectic or the adverts too extreme or you may frighten away prospective customers.

Leave it Bare

There is definitely appeal in keeping that blank space exactly as it appears however. Developing a web page that is far too busy can be bewildering for website visitors, and it may make it harder for them to determine what they are interested in on your web page. By leaving the website page clean, the individual parts you do incorporate will stand out significantly more, and your webpage will be a lot more calming to dedicate time on. Undoubtedly, you may also opt to put nothing here, but to instead increase a distinct element of your web site, or simply to shift things around just a little so that the blank area is at a more practical position on the webpage, and something else gets much more concentration.

Web Design Tips And Strategies For Professional Websites

Creating a professional website is the first step in the right direction for every profit-oriented business that wants to benefit from innumerable rewarding opportunities online and cut down on the marketing costs.

With a plethora of options available in the world of website design, the decision to choose the web designer or web designing company is often a difficult task for most business owners who want to tap rewarding opportunities online.

However, the best part is that identifying and accessing the best web design and even software development becomes an easy process once you have accustomed yourself with tips, insights, and basics of the site designing process and industry. If you still find a difficulty, there is always an option for you to avail the services of an industry expert like a professional website designing company that can take care of all your needs without putting a hole in your pocket. While getting your website designed, it is very important for you to ensure that it is kept simple, unique, refreshing, easy to navigate, and search engine friendly. Moreover, the site should be designed in such a way that it is of great use to customers and easy to be crawled by robots of the search engines. In addition to that, the site should be in compliance to industry standards and should be innovative and navigation-friendly, to say the least.

Furthermore, the website of your online store or business should be clean and professional and any tendency to use scatter fonts should be best avoided. The website should have good images and graphics and must load quickly and should be characterized by cross-browser compatibility. Moreover, the site pages should be interlinked to each other and every page should offer some value to the customers besides the site offering one-click access to important pages like about us, contact us, and home page from all its pages.

It is also very important for you to note that the use of flash animations is a double-edged sword. While it does help in enticing the attention of customers, too much of it can increase the loading time of the website by a considerable extent. To maintain the right balance, it is important to integrate the animated elements into the concept of web design and allow them to complement information and not to compete for attention. The website designer, entrusted with the task of designing your site, should also integrate proven techniques of online marketing into the designing and development process so that the site can be assured of targeted traffic and generate leads once it is made live.

By following these website design tips and strategies, you can surely allow your website to help you realize the short and long-term objectives of your organisation besides enjoying an authoritative presence in the world of the internet.

Important Photoshop Elements for Web Design

If at all you're planning on designing an entire website using Photoshop, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind. However, using Photoshop to design your website would be one of the best ways to go about it as there's no limit to the things that can be done.

The Navigation

Every website has various pages and there are top level pages that go further down and finally reach call to action pages where people either get what they need or are converted into buyers.

However, for them to reach the final page they're going to need to be directed there, this is where navigation plays a crucial role. Usually, webmasters say the best method would be to get your website visitors to the desired page within 3 or less clicks.

Therefore, when creating your website design using Photoshop, you need to keep this point in mind and try to see to it that the visitor reaches the final page within a few clicks. The layout needs to be well planned before you begin the design.

The width of your website

The width of your website is really important especially today as there are plenty of different screens that would be used to view the website. Everything right from Desktops to iPhones, Notebooks and other mobile devices including Kindles are used to browse the web.

Therefore, you need to make sure that your website is either responsive or use Photoshop to create a specific web design for each of these screen sizes. Usually monitors have a resolution of 1024 X 768 pixels. But, it would be advisable that you create your website with as high a screen resolution as possible as that would make it look good on all devices.

Understand the difference between paper and a screen

One of the biggest mistakes that web designers make when creating a website using Photoshop is the fact that what looks good on paper need not necessarily look good on the screen and vice versa too.

When you're designing a website you need to make sure that the background and overall layout of the page isn't too cluttered as there are other multimedia such as images and videos that would be added to the website.

Finally you need to make sure that the CSS style sheet that you use to create the page is readily integrated into HTML of the final pages. The CMS platform that you use should be good and accept your webdesign too.

How Marketing Consultants Can Make the Difference In Your Web Design Project

Web design is an integral part of a modern marketing campaign. The quality of the design and coding work done on your website is incredibly important, as a DIY website simply cannot compete with a professionally created online presence. Even if the aesthetics were equal, which is unlikely, a professionally designed and well built website will always outperform a homegrown page because of the tremendous amount of coding and back-end work that goes into doing it right.

Often, small business owners turn to web designers for help getting started, only to find that they don't "speak the language" of web design, and this leaves them unsure of what to ask for, how to answer the web designer's questions, and whether they're truly getting a good deal. This is where a reliable marketing consultant comes in. By hiring a marketing consultant, business owners benefit from having an advisor and liaison who can translate the web design lingo, leverage their standing professional relationships for better pricing, and handle the day-to-day issues that arise during web development work so that you as the business owner can focus on your business, not your website.

Marketing consultants are sometimes freelancers, but they are just as often team members working for advertising agencies. If you're working with an independent web designer and have hired an advertising agency, they will fill this role for you and handle the minutiae, bringing you in periodically for the bigger decisions. Even then, a knowledgeable marketing consultant will narrow down two or four dozen options to an easily navigable top five, for example, explain the choices at hand, and make recommendations as to a path forward.

Alternatively, small business owners sometimes hire advertising agencies or marketing consultants first, letting these companies bring in their own team members or freelancers for web design. Regardless of how the situation comes about, in addition to helping you navigate the waters of a web design project, an advertising agency and/or web consultant will bring one other major component to the table: cohesiveness.

When building a website, it's important to understand that while web development often seems to occur in a vacuum, it truly should not. Websites are key parts in a comprehensive marketing campaign that should typically integrate Internet and traditional marketing elements. Therefore, a great website is of even more value when it is the main piece in a large puzzle rather than a separate entity that does not align with the remaining pieces. That is, if a customer has been to your brick-and-mortar shop or has seen your TV, print, Internet, or direct mail advertisements and then visits your website, the branding should be consistent across all of those platforms. The site should immediately be identifiable as part of the whole, and that only happens when your web consultant and/or your advertising agency is intimately involved in your entire website design project.

Finally, it's important to keep in mind that web design projects are often bid without regard to content, which you'll be expected to provide as the business owner. The right advertising agency or marketing consultant will have staff or freelancers who can provide solid, clean, engaging content that also addresses your needs for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) while ensuring that your branding and messaging remains cohesive across all platforms.

5 Things That Should Be on the Front Page of Your Website

The front page of your website is like your face; and people have the tendency to adore expressive faces. Your front page, in effect, should ooze out the summary of your entire being; at least online. Yes, there are common parcels that you have to open up, like good design and soothing colors. Here are 5 potent factors that should strengthen your front page with their presence:

1. The starting point is of course your accreditation. Your business; its nature, a commanding logo and your contact information are simple ways to permeate into the visitors that you are a credible site on work. Credibility is the first key to reputation.

2. Another instant visible reference is the 'Call to Action' emblem. There should be clear indications that visitors are invited for participation on some sphere of your site. There may be significant rebates on sign-ups. There should be a clear call for donation if you deal on those lines. It doesn't pay to shy away. There may be fast action inducements for freebies. Shopping carts are another way to make your site a 'visit and stay' type.

3. Ensure that your site is clutter-free and has good uptime. It hurts if the site doesn't open up time and again. The navigation from front page to others should be quite sleek. Of course, a dedicated site has natural endowments like a good number of dropdowns. You can do wonders even with template sites though, with some effective strategies. If you are providing services that need regulation, make sure that the regulation clearance is quite apparent to the visitor. In whole, your site should speak out its method and demands in clear terms, so that its remembrance quotient gets stronger.

4. It is always great to generate feedbacks. Better still if that section is enumerated on your front page. Give a good section to an impartial endorsement. Probing testimonials sit on visitors' minds. Do remember to update your sites and work hard on your products and services, so that all connected virtues seem truthful. Take a bright side by drawing the viewer's attention to a brazen yet steady form of interpretation; whether it is a stunning original image; special graphics or stylized content, it should all come with a difference. Staple your front page with a concise and precise description of your wares. Remember to be truthful, for the inadequacies will soon be caught out. If possible, keep a quick customer care to give you strength.

5. Last but the most significant presence on your front page has to be the social media links. You need to be pro-active on Facebook and LinkedIn; connecting all ends together. This gives the visitor a feeling of importance and accessibility. RSS feeds are other way to generate interest.

Needless to say, the evolutions will punctuate your front page with many other necessities that tone up your presence and visibility schedule. These 5 salient points however should be the basic framework on which you build your castles of success.

Smart Strategies For Designing A Professional Website

If you are all set to put your business on the internet map, emphasizing on professional website designing solutions is surely the best decision in the right direction.

Believe it or not, the success of a website is decided to a great extent even before it is made live. The selection of a right domain name and choosing the best web designing solutions is what increases the chances of a website to gain acceptability and taste success.

While a domain name should be easy, short, relevant, suggestive, and unique and must be carefully selected after a comprehensive analysis of the market and competition, it is website designing that often leaves business owners and managers confused.

To ensure that you select the right web web designer and package, the first and foremost thing for you to remember is that a site is there for the customers and retaining existing and attracting potential customers becomes easy only when the site is customer-oriented, easy to navigate, and offers great value to the end users. While the website should help customers make informed decisions through unique and informative content, it should be designed professionally and in accordance with industry guidelines to serve the very purpose of its creation. This is exactly where the need of professional web designer or website designing company with expertise in web development comes into the picture.

It is worthwhile to note here that the design of your website should embody the character and personality of a brand. Moreover, it is very important for you to establish the purpose and objectives of the website and then identify the audience. Once this has been taken care of, it is time to formulate the right designing strategies and implementing them. All the website designing elements should be shaped and focused in such a way that they complement each other and help the business realize its goals. In other words, a successful website is all about making the right use of the very limited attention the site visitors will give and this can be turned into reality by ensuring that the site not only informs, but also educates about what your products and services are meant for, how will they benefit customers, how will they satisfy their requirements, why they are superior to the available options, and how will your business take care of customers' needs with after-sale services.

This process of web designing and development is an exhaustive process and needs special skills and experience and by hiring the services of a professional web designer or website designing company with experience in web development, you can surely make things easier for your website in the online world.

Attributes of the Best Websites for Real Estate

In the present day, it has become essential for the realtors to get a premium real estate website. This not only highlights their practice but also establish a dynamic online presence. Read on the article to know about the different attributes of best real estate website.

The number of websites for real estate has increased significantly over the last few years. This can be attributed to the increased appreciation of what the internet has to offer. Most real estate managers and brokers have created and developed websites so that they can have a strong online presence. In the virtual world, visibility is key, so sites that are more visible attract many clients and generate more sales. This is the reason why most real estate sites are SEO optimized.

Some of the features that can be found on such a website include photos of properties that are on sale. These properties are normally categorized in a number of ways. For instance, properties that have selling prices that fall within a specific range are put into the same categories. Properties that have the same number of bedrooms or bathrooms are also placed in different categories. This makes it easy for prospective buyers to find the right property.

It is very easy to navigate sites that are specifically designed for properties. Whether you want to list a property or make an offer for an existing one, you will find all the necessary tools and buttons on the home pages of these sites. These sites also are very attractive. Internet users are normally attracted to professionally designed sites that are also stylish.

Most sites also offer tips, pros and cons for buying a property. This information is available in a form of short articles that are both informative and interesting to read. You can find information on how to find the right property, how to close a deal faster, what to consider when buying or selling a property, how to get the right mortgage and among other things. These articles can be of great help especially to first time home buyers.

Most sites specialize in properties located within a specific geographical location like in the city, state, east and west coast and among other regions. However, there are also many sites that have properties from all over the county. When you want to find a property in a given city, all you need to do is specify the state, zip and postal code, and execute the search. You can narrow down the search by specifying the type of property you are looking for.

Some sites nowadays are developed on platforms that make live chat possible. This is a very important communication tool. When prospective clients need to make inquiries, they can chat directly with a customer service representative. The email addresses and phone numbers available on these sites make communication even easier.

Websites for real estate also have short sale properties for sale, foreclosed properties and buildings that have been repossessed by the state due to lack of payment of taxes by their owners. These deals are normally available at very low prices, and can make a good investment for both buy and flip investors and prospective home owners. All the necessary real estate information that a person may need can be found on best web design property.

Five Key Questions to Ask Before Designing Your Website

As with many things, good web design begins with careful planning and attention to detail. Before you even commit a line of code to your site, you should think hard about the type of website that will best suit your company and its goals. The answers to these five simple questions should help you get a much better idea of what your finished website will look like and aid in its design.

#1 - What is the primary purpose of the website?

Are you establishing a website as a source of information for interested web users? Do you wish to showcase what your company does and its expertise in doing so? Or is the main purpose of your website to funnel web users towards buying a product they want or need? The main purpose of your website will have important implications for its structure, navigation layout and overall design, so it's essential to be clear on this from the start.

#2 - Who will its core users be?

Are you trying to appeal to and accommodate young business professionals? Teenagers? The older generation? Whoever it is, be sure to create a design that will speak to them and fulfil their needs.

#3 - What colour scheme best suits your image and purpose?

Don't underestimate how important the psychological impact of colour is on your visitors. Your colour scheme should be planned out beforehand and remain consistent throughout the entire site. Think about the image you wish to project - i.e. slick and modern, friendly and welcoming, or offbeat and unique.

#4 - What extra features will help users get the most out of your site?

There's no point in including snazzy, technologically impressive bells and whistles if they're not needed. Decide what features will actually help users to get what they want from your site. For example, if you have lots of products, be sure to include a comprehensive search tool. If your business is involved in or hosting a variety of events, provide an interactive calendar, and so forth.

#5 - How often and to what extent do you plan to update your website?

Including a regularly updated blog on your website is usually a straightforward matter, and should be relatively easy for even those with little technical knowhow to operate. But if you need to update larger chunks of your site, to accommodate new product ranges for example, you should plan ahead to ensure that you or a member of your team will be able to do so without too much fuss.

When you're ready to take the plunge and invest in a website, it's always a good idea to speak with several web design agencies before you commit. Find a team that speaks your language, understands your business and one that you feel confident can deliver in time and in budget.

Spend Money On Your Website

The Internet is in my opinion one of the greatest things ever invented. People rely on it everyday in order to conduct business, advertise, and sell good and services. It is for this reason, every legitimate business needs a website. Every business owner knows that they need a web presence even it is is just so people will know how to locate and contact them. As a result so many companies out there have made it so easy to set up a website using a point and click based system usually allows people to set up a website within a day or two.

Typically, companies that offer this type of service don't specialize in web design but have added this service for a small monthly fee. The problem with using a point and click site is that companies that offer these types of services usually restrict what level of control that you have in personalizing the site. This can be a problem because in my opinion the web sites don't look appealing and there will be thousand of other businesses out on the net that have the exact same website with different content. Many things determine whether or not a website is effective. Honestly, a company, business or organization, can place all the pertinent information on a site that was created with a point and click system, but they usually look cheap and generic. Unfortunately, customers can tell and are usually turned off and never take the time to see what goods or services the company has to offer. Please understand you get what you pay for, and don't lose business trying to save money.

I encourage you to spend money on your web presence. The truth of the matter is that web design costs money, but you need to look at it as an investment. If your company doesn't have a professional graphic designer or web developer, ask around, do a Google search to hire a professional graphic designer such as my wife Johanna Lewis, graphic artist for Perpetual Pixels, to create your web site. For some instances, depending on the complexity of the site, it might require the assistance of a web developer to write complex programming to interact with a backend database. If so, your site will cost more, but remember it is an investment.

My wife being a graphic designer talks to people all the time who want to settle for a generic point and click site. They don't want to make the investment in their business. She tells them the pros and cons of choosing a point and click system that usually has more cons, but they want to save money, disregard her words and settle for less. Sometimes they come back asking her to create them the site that she proposed. When this happens, individuals spend more money than they have too all because they didn't do it right the first time. I urge you. Please make an investment in your web presence. Spend money on your web site.

Robert G. Lewis http://faithforsuccess.com

Why Should a Website Need Responsive Web Design?

Over the past year, the term responsive web design has gained more and more attention - and with good reason. Since the goal of any efficient internet media location is to be as visible and useable to as many people as possible, designers have to take into consideration the fact that there are many different devices on which all internet locations can be viewed. From smart phones to extra-wide desktop monitors, these options are great for getting seen by everyone who accesses the internet. The difference in screen size and resolution on different devices can be somewhat problematic, which is where responsive web design is needed.

Function

Because there are so many devices, screen sizes, and resolutions on which the internet can be accessed today, responsive web design uses what is called a fluid layout and responsive page elements such as images, video, and text. By creating multiple sets of code, one to fit each of the main device types, it is possible for almost any viewer to access internet information without distortion or missing content. Of course, this is a very basic definition and there are many details involved to create a responsive web design. Basically, it involves three layouts of the same page that gets called up separately, depending on the device being used.

Implementation

Creating a fluid and responsive website involves having three ways to present the same information so that the user, no matter what type of device is involved, manages to find desired and searched for material. The easiest way to accomplish such a design is through the use of responsive web elements like fonts, images, video, and audio. By using CSS code to control the different elements, it is possible for a website to display the same content even on a smaller device but in a different way.

Increasing text size and decreasing image size on a mobile website makes for more user friendly viewing as well as allowing for each size to adjust accordingly, dependent upon whether it is viewed horizontally or vertically on the device. The proportions of tablet screens when creating layouts must be planned as they are rapidly becoming a staple gadget in many households. Avoid using pixels in the CSS code for controlling size; instead use percentages to ensure that the size of the font or image is always proportional to the size of the entire website.

Benefits

The main advantage of responsive web design is its ability to provide the best way to assure that no matter what type of device is being used, the internet can be accessed and seen in the way it has been planned. This is critical since many people are frustrated by tiny text size, slow loading pages, and scroll bars taking up precious smart phone screen real estate. By creating a layout that prevents all such things, website traffic will increase and it can be seen by the most amount of viewers on the device of choice. Bounce rates should also be lower, since each internet page will adjust to be as user friendly as possible. Additionally, there is only one actual page to create instead of several with different layouts. This is great for SEO purposes because all views will count collectively toward increasing page traffic and make the website generally more efficient.

Though it may seem like a lot of trouble to design for such small screens, considering that over 25 percent of all internet users access it on cell phones alone, designers must take this seriously. Failure to do this can negatively affect performance depending on the type and purpose of the website. More importantly, having an internet presence that is easily and comfortably accessible on any device will undoubtedly earn and retain customers as well as create credibility and positive brand recognition!

Tips for Designing a Niche Website

The first step in designing a niche website should be choosing a subject. When choosing a subject it is important that you choose something relevant to your niche. You should also provide readers with a unique opinion, relevant information or helpful tips. In order for your content to get the attention it deserves it is critical that you stay away from categories that are over saturated with content, blogs and articles. This will give your content a chance to survive among all of the new content that is published each day.

While it is important to choose a unique subject, you also don't want to choose one that is too unique. Choose something different enough to get noticed but not something too different so that it ends up getting lost. When writing this content remember to keep it informative, this will help keep the interest of the reader and possibly provide them with some information they weren't aware of. If readers find your information helpful they are more likely to become repeat visitors.

When you are developing your website it is important that you provide visitors with different types of content. This can include editorial articles, reviews, seasonal content and other helpful types of content. To ensure that your content is posted regularly, you may want to consider using a publishing website that allows you to schedule when your posts are published. This will allow you to work ahead of time and not miss any deadlines.

There are many different things to consider when designing a website aimed at reaching a niche market. Keep the primary purpose of your website in mind and don't let other factors distract you from your main goal. It is important that the content you provide your readers be relevant to the niche market you are trying to reach. Remember to keep the content fresh and regularly update it. This will show your readers that you are active and concerned about providing them with fresh new content related to their interests.

Creating a new website for your business can be an extremely stressful undertaking; however if you follow some of the guidelines we have listed above the process should be a bit more tolerable. If you find yourself pressed for time, don't forget to use a publishing service that allows you to schedule your posts. A well-designed website will reward you with a devoted following and can help increase your sales.

5 Tips on How to Create a Great Blog for Your Business

It is essential to have a blog for your business. It may be a huge investment of your time and money, but it delivers its weight in gold when used right. It is a viable marketing tool that could help a lot in generating site traffic, possible leads and inbound links.

There is one important thing you need to remember though when it comes to having a blog. You always have to give out top rate content. This means you always have to create and provide unique and fresh content that is easy for people to read and understand. Your content should be written primarily for your target audience and not for search engines.

You must strive to make your content educational, informative and accurate. Also ensure that it has been written for your target audience and that it should answer their needs. This will let you gain their interest and will make them come back for more.

Below are five tips you should remember in creating the best content for your blog:

1. Never forget that your content should speak "with" and not "to" your target audience. You should always, always remember this. Make sure that you won't alienate your readers from the information you are providing. Work towards involving them in your articles. Give them some encouragement in voicing out their thoughts by making sure your comments section is open to the public.

2. Make sure that the language you use is always interesting. Even if your blog is for your business, veer away from being too preachy or technical. Always aim for a conversational tone in all your writings.

3. Observe versatility at all times. Although you may have a business blog, it does not necessarily follow that you should always provide the same topics and use the same language. While you can write about other topics yourself, you can also solve this problem by allowing guest bloggers into your site. They will provide fresh perspective for your target audience.

4. Give out significant examples and anecdotes. These will provide more life into your blog, regardless of whether it is a business or personal blog. Gather stories from customers who have succeeded in meeting their needs using your products or services. These real-life stories, especially when accompanied with photos, are more relatable for your readers.

5. If you can carry it off, inject some humour into your content. If you are always so serious in your writings, your readers might get bored with your blog and click away after reading just a few lines and not come back. If you will provide amusing and witty language though, this will provide a breath of fresh air to your blog. It will make your readers stay on and read everything you have written for them. It might even make them come back to see what you have for them next time.

A Guide to Building a Website for Your Company Using WordPress

WordPress is one of the most popular and highly sophisticated content management systems you can find to help build your website. Incorporating it into your website's builder portfolio will offer you a low cost solution, regardless of how big or small your plans may be. WordPress is an adaptable system that operates on an adaptable platform so the kind of value that you would get here far outweighs any other system that you would have put in place.

Using WordPress in building your website is the very definition of simplicity. It's an incredibly useful business tool, one that allows you to build a site from your own domain, as well as allowing you access to a couple of dozen emails. All this is courtesy of the domain mapping upgrade. That's not even the half of it; with WordPress you don't need any professional design or hosting skills, and with the added value of custom plugins and themes, your website will have the luxury of witnessing the most elaborate content management system at the very peak of its powers.

How to get started

The first and perhaps most unappreciated step; find a good host, one with minimal limitations. Reliability and stealth becomes crucial here. Once you have this locked, then you need to think about compatibility. WordPress requirements haven't changed all that much, but for your website to operate at full width, then you will need two main things;

PHP version 5.2.4 or better MySQL version 5.0 or better.

The next step is to build your website around your content-not the other way around. You need to develop a static front page that acts as your home base-if you will, where you put up your company profile-make it simple and friendly.

Then you go on to create a series of subsidiary pages with a logical order of key information streaming. This makes your website more like a business portfolio and less like a journal based timeline. You want your website to be a resource base, not a feature blog consisting of dozens of random events. WordPress allows you to do just that! This step also allows you know the number of pages that will eventually end up with. If they turn out to be too many, then it is perhaps advisable to include a 'site index' that makes for easy navigation.

By this point you are already up and running, so you need to select a theme that emphasizes the purpose of your website, and appeals to your target audience. The theme should be simple, nothing fancy, just a little access point for you key pages on a top bar menu. You need a theme that you can identify with, and one that won't require changing every so often. This is mainly due to the fact that it will show up on just about every page on your site, so you need to pick wisely.

These are only a few of the many steps that can ensure your websites blends well into the WordPress spectrum, and that you get the best possible value. Remember that less is more here-so avoid cluttering your website with tons of irrelevant information-keep it simple.

Designing a Mobile Website: What To Consider

A recent study suggests that by the year 2013 there will be more users accessing the web using their Smartphones than people who access the web on a desktop or laptops. The reason for this paradigm shift has been the advent of the Apple's iPhone and faster wireless network connections. When iPhone was introduced in 2007 it brought with it host of features and utility that no other phone at that time could match. Knowingly or unknowingly the era of Smartphones was started by Apple.

When people started viewing various websites on their Smartphones, many mobile website design services also started. Personal computers and laptops use a faster internet connection and the browsing speed is very fast. But when we want to view the same websites on a Smartphone, the browsing speed reduces significantly. Thus the need for Smartphone-friendly websites was felt and gradually many sites were created. Mobile websites are easier and faster to develop, thus gaining popularity worldwide.

While developing a mobile website there are many things that should be kept in mind. They are discussed below.

Firstly, you should consider the size of the screen and its resolution. It is crucial to keep in mind the screen size as Smartphone have small screen size and resolution compared to your HD monitors and laptop screens.

Secondly, all the time mobile network providers are working to increase the speed of the mobile internet but still it is slower than the normal internet connection that is used in a desktop. The speed of the mobile internet should always be considered.

Thirdly, always consider the issue of poor connectivity. The speed of the connection may be satisfactory but the coverage is sometimes limited or concentrated at a particular area.

Fourthly, there are many kinds of Smartphone available in the market. The mobile website should be user friendly and should also consider the nature of the Smartphone. Viewing the website with the help of a touch screen phone or a keypad one should be easy.

Finally, the content, photos, links and advertisements should be minimal. By limiting the content you are reducing the page size and the time that the site takes to load.

Other things while developing a mobile website design are the inbuilt capability of the phone, the orientation of the screen of the device and the right font for the content. Mobile website design services are gaining popularity and if all the above mentioned tips are taken into consideration the development of such websites will be easy to develop and deploy.