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Redesign and Upgrades

Business Website Redesign

Let’s face it just about every business has a website. Most business owners probably had their website built for them in 2000 or maybe earlier. It has been five years and I’ll bet those websites have not changed since they were launched.

Websites are dynamic just like business. Business is ever changing as should your website. Remember your website is the first thing most of your new business is going to come from, it needs to be current, not only in content, but technology as well. So much has changed in the Web Design industry, that if you have not updated your website with a redesign, you may be left behind.

What has changed in Web Design?

Most websites built in the late 90’s were built with static HTML pages. This was an effective method then. You simply built a page for each area of your site, about page, contact page, services page, and home page. That is all you needed then. Now that your competition has a website too, how do you get that edge?

One of the problems with having your website built with static HTML pages is just that, they’re “Static”. Expanding your website is difficult because each page has to be changed to reflect the new area. That means the navigation must be changed on every page, so how do we fix this?

Dynamic website using content management software.

One of the biggest advances in web design has to be affordable content management software or CMS. Dynamic websites have been around for a long time, but you need a Microsoft development budget to have it. The other problem previously associated with dynamic websites was that the search engines could not index the URLs that it produced. Now with the use of mod_rewrite, dynamic websites can have very search engine friendly URLs making it possible to compete in the search engine rankings with everyone else.

The next most crucial advantage of CMS is functionality and expandability. The ease at which you can expand your website as well as alter the look of it, is like the difference between driving a car and riding a horse. Dynamic websites use a single template to create the look and feel of your website. What does this mean to you? Well it is simple. One day you decide that you want to rebrand your business and you need to change your website. Currently your site consists of about 100 pages. Before you would need to redesign every page to change the look. Now using CMS you change it in one place. Let me say that again one place. Change the template and it effects every page of your website. That will save you hours of work and hundreds if not thousands of dollars. CMS also uses CSS. CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheet. This file controls the look of the text, the links, your heading tags, and so on. Again if you want to change the color of your links one day, it only needs to be done in one file. So now you can see just how easy it is to change your site, let’s look at further expanding your website.

Your company has just acquired a new product that needs to be featured on your website. Just to reiterate, with static pages you would need to change the navigation on every page of your site. Now that you are using CMS, you simply log in to the administrative area (which I’ll discuss later) of the site and add the necessary pages for your new product. Expanding your website is almost endless.

The functionality of CMS

When a person visits your website it is important to keep them on there as long as possible. This increases your chances of making a sale. This means your site needs to have certain functions that will keep your visitors intrigued and want to stay longer. Most CMS has add-on components aside from its normal functionality. These components can be Poll systems for getting feedback from your visitors. You may want a Comments function that will allow your visitors to leave comments about different articles on your site. This is important to see what your visitors think about what you have to offer or what they could be looking for. You can have a links directory built in. This can help you create alliances with other similar businesses, and increase your website’s link popularity. You can add a scrolling news box to your site. This would allow your visitors to quickly browse information on your website, and it could also establish you as an authority on your business. These are just some of the extra functions you can have to expand the functionality of your website.

Another function that can be added to your site that has gained a lot of popularity these days is a Blog. Essentially a Blog is a diary of your business. You can post news to it to show your visitors that you are on top of what is happening in your industry.

The infamous Admin area

Every dynamic website has an administrative area. This is an area of your site that you visit on your site that requires a user name and password to enter. Once logged in you can see the “back-end” of your site. This is where you will update and make changes to your site. The main benefit of this is you the business owner can update your own site without having to know any Web Design skills. If you have used word processing software you can update your website. Think about all the money you can save by doing it yourself.

Advances in the Web Design industry have jumped leaps and bounds. Along with making it easier to add content to your site, and expand your site, you can now add much needed functionality to your website to increase your edge on your competition. If you would like to get more information about updating your website, contact us today, and let us help you take your website to the next level.

What you can expect when we design your website.

After we come to an agreement about your website design, it is time for you to create/collect all of your content. This content could include the text for your front page, about us page, contact page and product/services page(s). If we are going to create an eCommerce website for you, you need to collect all your product descriptions, product images, and the content for the pages mentioned previously.

While you are doing this, we will be securing your domain name if you have not done so already. We will also be changing the DNS information for the domain name. This tells the domain name that it needs to point to our servers. This is also the time we will be creating your template, or sometimes referred to the look and feel of the site. It includes your logo, the navigation, and a place for your content. When we have completed the template design, we will email you a proof for you to review. We can make changes to the template at this point if they are needed.

Once you have decided the template passes your approval we will begin to create your website. If we are designing a static HTML website then we will first create an HTML template from the Photoshop template we created for your review. If we are building a website for you that is an eCommerce site or a Content Management driven site we will create a template to work with that software. During this time we will need you to submit your content to us through email or on CD.

After we receive all of your content we can now start creating your website. No matter if you want a 5 page website or a 50 product eCommerce website, as long as we have the content, we should have your site done in less than 2 weeks. Some websites can only take a few days depending on the complexity of your project.

Whether it is a new design or a redesign contact us today for a free quote.

Why Did You Come To This Page?

- Is the homemade look of a your do-it-yourself website is holding your business back
from proving how professional you are?
- Perhaps you realized that you are not appearing in Google's search engine results
and understand how big of a problem that is.
- Or maybe it's time to add some dynamic content to your lifeless site

What ever the reason we are here to help!

This page under construction

What we do

WEBSITE EDITING, MAINTENANCE AND UPGRADES

Example Pages

Designing a Website can often be complicated task. Even if you have a general idea for your site,
there are many details that you may not have thought of.

We have prepared the following to help you through this process. Your answers will also help us to more easily design a site that is right for your needs.

Preliminary setup

URL - Do you have a domain name? If not go to http://www.whois.net to see if the domain name you want is available. (Use this site for reference only don't purchase your domain here! I can offer you a much better price!)

WEB HOSTING - Do you have web hosting? If not we recommend GoDaddy.
They have an excellent and inexpensive service with 24-7 support.

Things to think about first

AUDIENCE - Who is your target audience? (consumer, business to business, etc.)

PURPOSE - What is the purpose of your site? Do you have a picture of the need the site will fulfill?

GOALS - Will you sell a product or service online? Will you provide a sample portfolio of products or work online? How does the site help you obtain or retain customers?

SIZE - How big will your web site be? Have you thought about limits for the size and scope of the site?

VISITOR NEEDS - Will your web site offer interactive features to visitors? Can visitors send email, order a product or request information? Do you want the site to give you feedback?

ONLINE SALES - Do you plan to make sales online? Collect credit card payments?

Website design

We suggest that you spend some time browsing the Web. Take note of any websites that appeal to you. What is it you like about them? The layout? The colors? The navigation? The fonts?

LAYOUT - Think about how you would like your web site layout to look. Write down the URLs of several Web sites that have a layout similar to what you would like to have on your Web site.

NAVIGATION - What kind of navigation links would you like for your site? Buttons? Tabs? Text links? Drop down menu? A combination?
Again, take note of the URLs of several Web sites that have navigation links that you like.

COLORS - Colors are important. Remember that colors represent emotions and perceptions.
        * Elegant, business-like colors include dark colors such as navy blue and burgundy.
        * Fresh, healthy colors include bright colors such as pale yellows, blues and greens.
        * Loud, high-impact colors such as red and yellow, blue, orange and purple and black.

We recommend choosing one color that will be your primary color throughout the site and one or two complimentary colors.

Important: If you choose a background color other than white for your Web site,
make sure you choose a text color that is easily read on that background color.

FONTS - Fancy fonts can be used for headings and subheadings as long as they are easily readable. You should chose between a Serif type style (such as Times New Roman, Times ) or San Serif (Arial, Helvetica)

SITE MAP - Decide on how many pages you would like to start out with. More pages can be added in the future as your company grows.

Home Page - This is the first page of your Web site. It's also known as the index page.
It should clearly state what your Web site is about. It sometimes includes a mission statement and contains links to your "inner" pages. This page is your most valuable page, as it is the front door to your Web site and will be the first impression that your visitors will have of you.

Inside Pages - Here is a listing of some of the most popular inside pages. You can customize this list by adding to it or subtracting from it to meet your needs:

About Us Page - About you and/or your company. It may include your credentials or your resume. You may also what to include your picture.

Resources Page - Contains a listing of links and resources that are relevant to your Web site and may be of interest to your visitors. This is a good place to list Web sites that you have affiliate programs with.

Services/Rates Page - Contains a listing of your services or products and can also list your rates and prices.

Contact Us Page - Contains information on how to contact you. Often times it contains a form for your visitors to fill out. It may also contain your address, phone number, fax number and email address.

Testimonials - May contain letters of recommendation or testimonials that your clients have written for you.

Terms of Use/Disclaimer Page - Provides a clear definition of how you intend to use information collected on your site.

Site Map - A detailed map of your Web site.

Other - Write down any thoughts you have for additional pages.

CATEGORIES - Have you decided what the main categories or sections will be on your site? Will the categories link to products and services or to more general subject areas with sub-categories?

INTERACTIVE CONTENT - Email forms, Photo Gallery, Maps?

ORGANIZATION CONTENT - Directory, Calendar, Maps, Guides, database?

TEXT, PHOTOS & SCANS - Is your content in electronic form? Will you need to have photos or artwork scanned into electronic format or will you do that yourself? Please read GUIDED LINES FOR PREPARING PHOTOS FOR WEB USE if you are not familiar with the process.

FLASH - We do not generally recommend the use of Flash.

LINKS - What Web sites would you like to link to? What Web sites do you want to link to your site?

WHAT YOU DON'T LIKE - It is also important that you take notes on Web sites you don't like. What don't you like about them? Are they visually overwhelming? Difficult to read? Write down the URLs of several Web sites that you do not like with a short explanation as to why you don't like them on your "What I Don't Like" worksheet.

Marketing

MARKETING TOOLS - What forms of marketing will you use to promote your web site? Do you need stationery, business cards and brochures? Will you place ads, send direct mail or market the site online or a combination?

INTERNET PROMOTION - Registering the site with search engines is important. Having accurate meta tags in place will help as will having other sites link to yours. Ask about our SEO package deal.
Web banner advertising, or reciprocal ads may also be an option.

STATISTICAL FEEDBACK - Basic stats are included with your web package. We will need to discuss any additional information you need.
What do you want to know about visitors to your web site? Do you want to know where they came from to reach your site? Do you want to know what pages on the site were viewed? Do you need to know the total number of hits and page views?

This page is under construction.