Local Plumber Brisbane: web design Melbourne

Showing posts with label web design Melbourne. Show all posts

Monday, September 1, 2014

HOW TO QUICKLY GET YOUR WEBSITE MESSAGE ACROSS

A website's ability to attract new visitors is an important aspect of its success. Once you have a new visitor on your home page, your next challenge is to convince them to stay. You have just a few seconds to sell the benefits of your website to a new visitor.

Keep reading on for advice on getting the message across quickly and clearly.

Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

We usually associate a phrase beside a logo as the tagline, or USP. A tagline or unique selling proposition should state the single most important benefit that the visitor will gain from using your website. Taglines are commonly used to support your marketing message.

Here are some examples of world famous taglines:

"Earth's Biggest Bookstore" - Amazon.com
Amazon.com's tagline is to inform you that they offer the widest selection of books. They used this tagline before they expanded into other product areas of business.
"The Ultimate Driving Machine" - BMW.com
This tagline says you will get the ultimate driving experience with a BMW.
"We Love To See You Smile" - McDonald's
This tagline says you will smile, after the satisfaction received of eating at McDonald's

As you are aware, one of the benefits of the tagline is that it does not necessarily have to be 'true', in the purest form of the word. Is a BMW truly the 'ultimate' driving machine? Many will argue for and against this, but ultimately this is an opinion.

Here are some tips on putting together a tagline for your business:

Take a look at other people's taglines to see what makes them work. Apply that learning to the creation of your tagline
Your tagline must be simple, concise, clear, understandable and easily convey your marketing message
Ensure your tagline can be understood by an international audience
Be sure to include words or phrases that connect with your logo or the visual you are using
Once you create a tagline to support your marketing message, stick with it over time. Don't change it just because you are tired of it. Some of the most well known taglines have been used for years. Your clients will become familiar with it.

The Welcome Message

If your Web site is not self-explanatory, it is recommended that you display a simple welcome message somewhere near the top of your home page.

Your welcome message should:

Promote your Web site's USP, or benefit
Explain what your Web site is about

The Browser's Title Bar

You need to display your Web site's title and tagline in the Web browser's title bar. To execute this, simply use the <TITLE> tag in the <HEAD> of each page you create.

When Web site visitor’s bookmark the Web page, the title will be used as the description of the link in their bookmark or favourites folder.

For more information on web design Melbourne and online marketing, get in touch with Whiteblack Digital on 1300 559 971 or info@whiteblackdigital.com.au.

Monday, August 11, 2014

WEB DESIGN TEXT TIPS

Text Advice

Below are tips on using text in your website:

Minimize the number of words - Use the minimum number of words to convey your message. As a general rule, you can remove 25-50% of words, without losing anything important.
Default font testing - always ensure you test your Web pages using a browser's default settings; font typeface, size, text and link colors.
Multiple font typefaces - when you set your font typefaces, use approximately three to four options. This way, if your first choice is unavailable, your second, third or fourth typeface choice can be used by the user's browser. For headings, it's common practice to use a different typeface from the typeface used for the body text.
Variable font sizes - use various font sizes in your website, so that users can increase the text size in their browser. This is very useful to low vision users. Many Web designers use fixed font sizes, which disables this feature.
Printer-friendly web Pages: Offer a printer-friendly version of your various Web pages. This will enable your users to print out a page for easy reading off-line or reference.

Images

Below are tips relating to images.

Always ensure you set image sizes in the image tags. Two advantages exist to setting image sizes:

It increases the speed at which your page renders in web browsers. Images are downloaded after the page's text content is displayed on the screen. The page will appear to download quicker than it really has.
If the user turns off graphics, the alternative text will be visible in the empty image frame.

Alternative Text

Importantly, set alternative text in images. There are two advantages to setting alternative text in image tags:

If image sizes are set, and the user has turned off graphics, the alternative text will appear in the empty image
Alternative text will appear in a pop-up window when the cursor hovers over the graphic.

It’s important to optimize image file sizes to help minimize the download time of your Web page and improve the usability of your site. Google & other search engines place large importance on page speed load time. This will help your website rank organically on the search engines.

For more information on web design Melbourne and online marketing, get in touch with Whiteblack Digital on 1300 559 971 or info@whiteblackdigital.com.au.

Friday, July 18, 2014

Web Design & SEO

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and web design must go hand in hand. Nowadays, many web designers are incorporating SEO in the web design process. However, many companies do not understand the importance of the role SEO plays in their clients website design, and ignore the value SEO can bring to the website while in the design stages.

It is easier to get traffic to a site if it has an SEO friendly web design. Many technologies exist make a site look "cool" but are not search engine friendly. If your website design uses these technologies, then you may either be blocking or slowing down a search engine such as Google when it tries to access the content on your website. If a search engine cannot quickly and easily access content on your website, you run the risk of lower search results. Incorporating SEO best practices in your web design goes well beyond just content and back linking. SEO web design must incorporate the right technology decisions, site architecture, navigation and more. This is where SEO can play a critical role in your website design.

The content of the page is also a very important aspect you need to consider for SEO. Prior to the commencement of the web design, the web designer should get an understanding of what the website is all about. Once the design company has determined this, they can make a list of keywords that users might search for to get information that is there on the website. Placing the right amount of keywords on the page will help the page rank better with the search engines. IT is important to add keywords to the content while the web page is being created, as it will save money and time in the long run. You will not have to go back to an already created web page and make changes to the content for SEO reasons.

One element of off-site optimization is about link development. The links from other websites pointing to your website play an important role in increasing the search engine ranking of the page. Consider that neither link building nor search friendly content will be of much use if your web design is not SEO friendly.

Many experts will tell you that SEO is as important to creating a website as the design itself. If the website is designed keeping SEO in mind, then the website has a greater chance to start ranking from the time of its existence and will attract visitors from search engines.

For more information on web design Melbourne, SEO, online marketing, get in touch with Whiteblack Digital on 1300 559 971 or info@whiteblackdigital.com.au.

Monday, July 14, 2014

COLOURS IN WEB DESIGN

Colour is an integral means to touch emotions of your website visitors. It is considered non-verbal communication and creates a physical and emotional reaction of the viewers. Colours are able to set the right tone and carry the necessary message to visitors. Colours can calm or excite, arouse plenty of feelings and stimulate desired actions. Colour is extremely powerful when used correctly.

When choosing a colour scheme for a web design, it is important to do it correctly, be guided by the main principles of the colour theory and follow professional advice.

On the Internet, we do not deal with face-to-face selling. The Internet is a visual and psychological medium. The words or copy on your website have a massive psychological impact on your visitors and thus becomes your most important communication and sales tool.

Just as you use words to express yourself, colours can be used as an expression and are an important language all on their own. The background colour of your website, the colour of your header, the colour of your body text, headline text and sub-headlines etc. can all have a large psychological impact on your visitors.

Below is a list of some of the common colours and what type of psychological emotion they invoke on people:

RED is associated with love, passion, danger, warning, excitement, food, impulse, action, adventure.

BLUE is associated with trustworthiness, success, seriousness, calmness, power, professionalism.

GREEN is associated with money, nature, animals, health, healing, life, harmony.

ORANGE is associated with comfort, creativity, celebration, fun, youth, affordability.

PURPLE is associated with royalty, justice, ambiguity, uncertainty, luxury, fantasy, dreams.

WHITE is associated with innocence, purity, cleanliness, simplicity.

YELLOW is associated with curiosity, playfulness, cheerfulness, amusement.

PINK is associated with softness, sweetness, innocence, youthfulness, tenderness.

BROWN is associated with earth, nature, tribal, primitive, simplicity.

GREY is associated with neutralality, indifference, reserved.

BLACK is associated with seriousness, darkness, mystery, secrecy.

You can use the above as a guide when choosing colours for your web design. It really comes down to your target audience and what psychological message you want to convey in colours.

For more information on web design Melbourne and online marketing, get in touch with Whiteblack Digital on 1300 559 971 or info@whiteblackdigital.com.au.

Monday, July 7, 2014

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF WEB DESIGN

Businesses are becoming more concerned by their rankings on search engines such as Google. With most consumers conducting research online before making a purchase, this is understandable. However, achieving a 1^st spot on Google means nothing in some cases unless you have the right web design.

Usually, a company’s website is the first experience the firm has with a potential client. Being found online and making a big first impression is of utmost importance!

6 Essential Elements Web Design Elements

1. High quality copy writing

Great quality copy sells. It will be worth whatever investment you make.

2. Professional web design

Contrary to what some people believe, having a website that is different from everything else on the Internet is not the best plan for most businesses. There is no need for Flash pushing images and scrolling text across your page whilst making little beeping noises every time you hover over buttons.

Your potential clients will have one question:

Is this a professional looking website (yes or no) and therefore is the company professional and trust worthy?

Yes your site should be completely unique and it should have a professional web design, because you never get a 2^ndchance to make that first impression, but when designing it with your web professional, think about what your customers want from your website and design it accordingly.

3. Blogging

The single most effective thing you can do online for your business is to write a blog post frequently. A lot of companies can’t afford the expense of having one of their staff write a post each day/week, but there are plenty of companies who offer this as a service for clients.

4. An email subscription database

With Mailchimp you can send 12000 emails to 2000 per month for free. This email list is a real asset to your business and will result in bottom line dollars.

6. Google Analytics

No website should be built without Google Analytics as a minimum. Google Analytics is a free tool, it’s awesome, and it’s user-friendly, and what it comes down to is this: if you don’t know what your visitors are doing on your website then you have no idea of the volume of traffic you’re receiving and where they are coming from.

You won’t know how many people visit and then contact you, or how many people are looking at your site on mobile devices, or where they located geographically around Australia. Having intelligence about who, where, what, when and how of your website is critical to decision making and return on investment.

For more information on web design Melbourne and online marketing, get in touch with Whiteblack Digital on 1300 559 971 or info@whiteblackdigital.com.au.

Friday, July 4, 2014

First Impressions Count In Web Design

The first impression of a web page can be formed in a very brief moment. Researchers have proved that a web user forms their first impression of your web site in as little as 50 milliseconds. A person can make judgments about a web designs visual attractiveness within the blink of an eye. Going by the rule of “halo effect”, where a person’s perception about one trait can lead to similar perceptions about another, and as they say, “first impression is the last impression” the first impression founded of a website can lead to subsequent judgments about the authenticity, usability, credibility which in turn will certainly effect their purchasing decisions. A better first impression can be made by creating n attractive, fast loading and visually appealing website.

The Halo Effect

The “halo effect” refers to the generic assumption of a particular trait based on another particular trait. As an example, a wealthy person may be considered intelligent and successful in life. Cognitive thoughts lead to the speed at which website users form value judgments about a website. The precognitive reaction is a physiological reaction caused by what is visible on the computer screen. Thus, carrying this first impression forward to conclude about other traits of a particular product is known as the Halo Effect. Users ignore all evidence and give more importance to their initial feelings.

Emotion and Cognition

Halo Effect proves the definite relationship that exists between our emotional reaction to a website and our conscious thought process. Purchase decisions involve cognitive judgments and also emotional judgments even for a rational consumer.

Photographs verses Sketches

Photographs have much worse recognition compared to sketches. Sketches are easily identifiable. A professional web design company will use relaxing visuals, awesome graphics and easy navigation to have business organizations hold an edge over their competition by increasing onsite conversion rates.

The article points out that users can make conclusions about your website in as little as 50 milliseconds. If a user gets a poor first impression of your website, they are very likely to disapprove it even if you offer better products, services or usability. You only get one opportunity to make a good first impression and you have to make the most of it .

For more information on web design Melbourne and online marketing, get in touch with Whiteblack Digital on 1300 559 971 or info@whiteblackdigital.com.au.

Monday, June 30, 2014

Elements of Web Design Melbourne

You may ask yourself why you should get help updating your current company website? Yes, your current company website looks old and outdated compared to the competition but does a credible, compelling website design really matter? Reluctantly, you find a web design firm to give your firm’s website a facelift, but you are unconvinced that a new design will generate new business. There are a variety of reasons why a well designed website will attract your ideal client. The following highlight key elements that a web designer should keep in mind when designing a website:

Navigation

An essential part of web design is the navigation. The navigation of a website can make or break a site, which is important for robust websites with many pages. Good navigation should be easy to find and make for quick and easy travel throughout the entire website. A good tip is that your website navigation should be so intuitive that even your grandmother can understand it.

Brand Consistency

If your company has a logo and that logo is utilised frequently in print materials (i.e. business cards, pamphlets, letterheads, etc.), then the logo, logo/brand colours, brand messaging and imagery must be carried over into the web design.

Reading Patterns and SEO

Most people are prefer reading a web page the same way they read a book, from top to bottom, left to right. Web designers should also take this into account when designing for a website. Good web designers make sure to place the most important information on the upper left hand column. This will help get the message across more effectively for website visitors who could be current or potential clients. But what many people do not realise, is that placing important information in these areas of a website also improves search engine optimisation (SEO). When you include important company-related keywords into the html-based text, search engines such as Google and Bing are able to crawl your website easily, increasing your search engine placement and giving your website and firm more overall search visibility.

Content

The content of your site is important. There are other important facts that are considered when a copywriter creates the content and the designer creates the complementary visual environment for the content. Making the message short and to the point, yet warm and welcoming (depending on the industry) helps the reader to easily remember the message. Also, when there is too much text on a page, the page becomes visually cluttered making it more difficult for a user to physically read the page.

For more information on web design Melbourne and online marketing, get in touch with Whiteblack Digital on 1300 559 971 or info@whiteblackdigital.com.au.

Monday, June 23, 2014

Less Is More In Web Design Melbourne

In recent times, Minimalism has become very popular in web design. Minimalism essentially works on the principle that “less is more”. Websites use far fewer images and text in order to transmit a much more concise message and improve the overall visitor experience.

Using Minimalism, websites should only display information that is necessary and not be cluttered with anything immaterial. The information displayed on the website does not overwhelm or repel visitors and the message/services of the website can be communicated clearly and in a straightforward manner. With a cluttered, busy website users may become frustrated and confused, and consequently have a negative visitor experience, which is likely to reflect badly on the businesses brand identity.

If you are interested in redesigning using a minimalist design, a good rule is to examine your existing website layout and remove elements until you reach a point where, if anything further was removed, the website would no longer function in its intended capacity. You need to think whether each element is vital to the website and if they aren’t, remove those elements or hide them from the first view of the page, perhaps using ‘Show more’ links or light boxes.

This reduction now means that what is left is now extremely important. Images, font, colours have to be carefully considered to ensure your website successfully communicates its message to the user. Bad decisions in font and colour, as well as spelling mistakes or missing words, must be avoided as they will be much more noticeable with a minimal website design.

With regards to colour, consider using a few pastel colours only on your website, and ensure the colours match and are not too strong. Moreover, using one font only is best, as this will improve your website’s clarity. Be certain the font chosen is clean and readable, as many fonts may look interesting but hinder communication. Lastly, consider the choice of words used carefully. Generally, any text written on your website should be easy to read, unambiguous and potential misinterpretation should be kept to a minimum.

For more information on web design Melbourne and online marketing, get in touch with Whiteblack Digital on 1300 559 971 or info@whiteblackdigital.com.au.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Site Goals Count

Every business requires a website and that website has to be designed to make sure that it does what it is supposed to do. There is no reason to build a site if it does not meet its goals. With a well designed website, you have a good chance of attracting the visitors that you are looking for and to get them to do what you want them to do.

The first place to start when you are designing any website is decide on just why you are building that site. Everything else that you do will follow from here. This requires more than a standard answer like you want to increase your sales with your website, you have to know how you plan to do that. Once you know what your foals are, you will be able to design a site that will achieve what you want it to.

Keep in mind when designing your website that in many cases your goals will having competing agendas. For example, you may want to use your website to provide information about your company. However, simultaneously you may also want to make sales directly from your site. This can be a little tricky to do since when you are trying to provide information you want people to stick around and read about your site. However when you are selling online you generally want to steer users to the product they are looking for as fast as possible.

Something else to consider is that your goals and the users goals are the same. If people who are visiting your website are going to it looking for information, you need to make sure that you are providing the information they require. If the visitor gets there and finds a sales page rather than an information page, they are just going to leave and go to another website.

If you find that you are getting visitors who are looking for something that is different from what your site is offering then you have an issue. After all, if the goal of the website is to sell a product, then you really don’t want visitors who are just looking for information, you want visitors who are looking to buy.

The way you design and market your website will have a large impact on who visits your site and how they interact with it. Be sure you get your goals right from the beginning so that your web developers and online marketers work together to achieve your desired outcomes.

For more information on web design Melbourne and online marketing, get in touch with Whiteblack Digital on 1300 559 971 or info@whiteblackdigital.com.au.