Few of the design elements can make a significant difference to the performance of a web page:
* The position and color of the primary call to action
* Position on the page of testimonials, if used
* Whether linked elements are in text or as images
* The amount of “white space” on a page, giving the content space to “breathe”
* The position and prominence of the main heading
* The number of columns used on the page
* The number of visual elements competing for attention
* The age, sex and appearance of someone in a photo
Results of Test :--
| Page A | Page B | Page C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of traffic | 34% | 33% | 33% |
| New sales | 244 | 282 | 114 |
| Change | N/A | 15.57% | -53.28% |
Version B, with the minor copy changes, resulted in a 15.57% increase in sales—that represents a big revenue jump for a site with high sales volumes.
Version C, in which we changed the regular, one-column format into a two-column format, resulted in 53.28% fewer sales.
Read Design Choices Can Cripple a Website
It won’t replace your fancy CS3, nor Flash, nor 3D Studio Max.
Some of them are pretty decent alternatives, not only for those who are not willing to spent some big Bucks, but also for those who need some specific tasks done, like resizing a batch of picture without needing to run the almighty Photoshop.
Image editing
-
The GIMP 2.2.13
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a freely distributed piece of software suitable for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition, and image authoring. It is a powerful piece of software with capabilities not found in any other free software product.
Note: You will need to download both GTK+ Runtime Environment and The Gimp installers. Install GTK+ before installing The Gimp.
-
GIMPshop 2.2.8
GIMPshop is a modification of the free/open source GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP), intended to replicate the feel of Adobe Photoshop. Its primary purpose is to make users of Photoshop feel comfortable using GIMP.
-
Picasa 2.7
Transfer, find, organize, edit, print, and share images, all with this easy-to-use product. Watch Picasa automatically organize all your pictures into elegant albums by date. Having all your photos in one place means no more time wasted searching for folders or files. The program works with JPEG, GIF, BMP, PSD, and movie files and is compatible with most digital cameras; it detects your USB driver and imports pictures into albums. Editing tools include cropping (standard or custom), removal of red-eye, and enhancing–even switching from color to black and white. Create slide shows set to your MP3s. Integration with Picasa’s free Hello instant picture-sharing software lets you share hundreds of photos in seconds and chat in real time.
Download Picasa with the Free Google Pack
-
Paint.NET 3.08
Paint.NET is free image editing and photo manipulation software designed to be used on computers that run Windows. It supports layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools.
-
ColorPic 4.0
Ever tried using a color picker on a high resolution monitor? It’s impossible. That’s why this color picker has a magnifier attached. Grab palettes of up to 16 colors at once and use four advanced color mixers to select a spectrum of possibilities.
-
Magnifier 3.0
Ever needed to see what’s going on the screen down to the pixel level? That’s where the Magnifier comes in. Simple and easy to use, the Magnifier is always handy for when you need to see all the details. Magnifier has the following features: no popup adverts or spyware, easy to use with any other program, resizable magnification area, adjustable zoom factor, overlay a grid.
-
Easy Thumbnails 2.91
Create thumbnails and scaled copies of all your images. With Easy Thumbnails, you can find and process images individually, in groups, or in whole folders using a simple file selector and built-in image viewer. Use slider controls to rotate images and adjust contrast, brightness, sharpness, and other attributes. Thumbnails can be created in any existing folder or a new folder, and you can identify them clearly by adding a prefix or suffix to their names.
-
FastStone Photo Resizer 1.4
FastStone Photo Resizer is a free image converter and resizer intended to enable users (especially digital-camera owners) to convert, rename, resize, crop, rotate, change color depth, add text, and watermarks to images in a quick-and-easy batch mode. The application supports major graphic formats including BMP, JPEG, JPEG 2000, GIF, and PNG. Drag-and-drop mouse operation is well supported.
-
ImageDiff 1.0.1
ImageDiff is a pixel by pixel image comparison tool. ImageDiff allows you to compare two images side by side, and see a difference mask showing you the exact pixels that have changed. Features include: Compare images of different formats, including JPG, GIF, BMP, and TIF, PNG. Compare images of different proportions and imageDiff will scale and calculate the difference automatically.
-
IrfanView 4
IrfanView is a fast and compact image viewer/converter. It is trying to be simple for beginners and powerful for professionals. Many supported file formats and features. Features include: multi-language support, Thumbnail option, slideshow, toolbar skins, fast directory browsing, batch conversion/editing, multipage editing, file search, change color depth, scanning, cut/crop, IPTC edit, capturing, lossless JPG operations, effects (sharpen, blur, Adobe Photoshop filters), EXE/SCR creating, many hotkeys, command line options and plugins.
-
FastStone Image Viewer 3.2
FastStone Image Viewer is a fast, stable, user-friendly image browser, converter and editor. It has a nice array of features that include image viewing, management, comparison, red-eye removal, emailing, resizing, cropping and color adjustments. Its innovative but intuitive full-screen mode provides quick access to EXIF information, thumbnail browser and major functionalities via hidden toolbars that pop up when your mouse touch the four edges of the screen. Other features include a high quality magnifier and a musical slideshow with 150+ transitional effects, as well as lossless JPEG transitions, drop shadow effects, image annotation, scanner support, histogram and much more. It supports all major graphic formats including BMP, JPEG, JPEG 2000, GIF, PNG, PCX, TIFF, WMF, ICO and TGA.
-
Alch Icon Suite 1.2
Alch Icon Suite is a powerful icon editing studio this small application is extremely easy to use and has a range of effects that can be applied to icons, not only can you edit any (16 X 16, 32 X 32, 48 X 48, 64 X 64) existing windows icons you can create your own icons fast and effectively.
*Update* 7/22/2007
Users have reported the presence of the virus “win32 adload.aw” in this program. Download for this app is not supported any more. Thanks for the help.
Overview | Download
Ilustration
-
Inkscape 0.45
Inkscape is an Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, Freehand, CorelDraw, or Xara X using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format. Supported SVG features include shapes, paths, text, markers, clones, alpha blending, transforms, gradients, patterns, and grouping. Inkscape also supports Creative Commons meta-data, node editing, layers, complex path operations, bitmap tracing, text-on-path, flowed text, direct XML editing, and more.
-
SmoothDraw NX
SmoothDraw NX is an easy yet powerful freehand drawing tool. It’s a limited yet free version of SmoothDraw. It produces the most smooth and expressive stroke through your tablet. It also smoothes mouse input for who don’t have a tablet.
-
SPRAY vector generator 0.1
SPRAY vector generator is intended to produce helper objects for vector illustration software like Xara X, Corel Draw, Adobe photoshop. You can easily generate huge number of circles with random position, fill, outline color; random paths, grids, and rays. You can place generated objects thru clipboard at your favorite illustration app. Developed for Xara X but also works with Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator.
-
SMN v5.1 ParticleDraw
ParticleDraw is a novel windows drawing program powered by a state of the art general system simulation engine. The brushes are dynamic systems of particles with interesting behaviours, which you can completely customise. Each brush is intricately tuneable with many underlying physical parameters and one can construct arbitrary systems of particles and use these as brushes.
-
InsightPoint 3.2.5.2
InsightPoint creates sophisticated illustration and layout for Web and print. When it comes to spell out and share your ideas, in text and in graphics as well, InsightPoint is the fastest and easiest way to get you there. Built on top of XML technologies, comprehensive object-oriented vector design tools, trivial learning curve, and smooth drawing experience.
Please Read about Design Programs in Detail :
Leonardo Da Vinci was one of the greatest artists of the Renaissance, leaving behind a legacy that continues to inspire artists, scientists and others. Here are six things we can learn from him about web design.
One of the most remarkable things about Leonardo is his insatiable curiosity. Besides being a master painter, here are some of his other interests…
* Botany
* Music
* Human and animal anatomy
* Fluid dynamics (before there was a name for this branch of science)
* Writing great poetry
* Platonic philosophy
* Designing remarkable inventions, including flying machines and a sort of pre-industrial tank
Many of these interests show themselves in his artistic work. Anatomy is obvious, but have you ever compared the ringlets of hair in his paintings to his drawings of water flow? Or thought of how rhythm, which is so essential to music and poetry, also shows up in painting and drawing?
The point is that being curious and learning about many things that are apparently unrelated to web design ultimately gives you more tools with which to design well.
2. Look beneath the surface
I’ve already mentioned Leonardo’s interest in anatomy. His study of what lies beneath the surface gave him an understanding which enabled him to draw and paint his subjects remarkably well. Something similar applies in web design.
For the graphic designer, it might be studying the structure of HTML & CSS.
3. Build on the work of others
What does this mean for web design? Don’t reinvent the wheel. Do your customers need to be able to manage their own site? Maybe all they really need is a little customization for Wordpress.
4. Do quick studies
Before beginning work on a painting, Leonardo would often draw several studies of it, experimenting with different compositions and learning how the various aspects of the painting would interact with each other, all without having to start over from scratch if the first idea didn’t turn out well.
This can be done in web design too. Have an idea for a layout ? Sketch it on paper. Building a web app? Sketch out a use process. If it looks good, go for it. If not, try again.
5. Iterate
But with web design we have it easier. If we want to redo our work and make it better, we don’t have to start from scratch again. We can make continuous incremental improvements.
6. Be careful of experimental techniques
Web designers take note. While experimental technology is wonderful, be very careful about deploying it directly to a crucial system/site, otherwise it could leave you, like Leonardo, trying to mend the cracks.
http://joshuaclanton.com/blog/2007/12/27/6-web-design-tips-from-leonardo-da-vinci/
A monthly study that analyzes what percent of OEM website visitors use shopping tools, the team assessed the change in visitor use of three shopping tools following BMW’s mid December website redesign.
Want to Better understand How Consumers Interact with Websites then Read Initial Impacts of BMW Website Redesign
3 Columns Done Wrong
This layout consists of a main content area bordered on either side by narrow sidebar columns. Despite the inherent problems with this sort of layout, it caught on fast and remains a popular choice for blogs and online retail. It also became and remains quite popular as a default layout for many content management systems.
Design fundamentals reveal this layout to be deficient in several ways. Due either to a lack of designer or owner discrimination or understanding, or perhaps simply due to laziness, this layout remains common even today.
Sites Using Centered 3-Column Layout
* Apple Store
* Amazon.com
* Many content management systems’ default themes
So what are the flaws ? In order to better understand them, it is helpful to first examine some of the supposed benefits to the centered 3-column layout.
Supposed Pros
* Centers the content, “making it the focus”
* Results in a “pleasing” symmetrical design
* Allows for twice as much ancillary content and cross-promotion on the page at
any given horizontal level
* Mostly it just allows people who don’t understand design and who cannot craft a
good content hierarchy to have places to put all sorts of extra info on a page
But these supposed benefits are not often beneficial at all. The reasoning behind them is based on a certain ignorance of design and usability. When you take design fundamentals and the corresponding facts of human perception into account, the flaws appear.
Definite Cons
* Symmetry is usually detrimental to content hierarchy
* Symmetry diminishes viewer interest
* Having 2 sidebars, one on either side, defeats the purpose of sidebar content
* It requires that site visitors first learn (and perhaps relearn from page to
page) where to look for a particular sort of ancillary information or links
* Often results in far too much ancillary information on the page
* The particular sort of visual noise generated by the 2 bracketing sidebars
diminishes, rather than enhances, user/reader focus on the main content
Given these usually relevant and always compelling issues, it makes little sense in almost any case to use a centered 3-column layout for Web pages. It’s time to retire this deficient and problematic layout and reserve it solely for its best use: cases where design and usability are not important—or you don’t want to pay a designer to craft something that’s actually effective.
For Example:
For Example:
Here’s a simple, easier to use iteration of the Apple Store main page. Compare this with the current Apple Store.
Also, you might want to see how I chose to redux Amazon.com and mitigate the problematic centered 3-column layout.
How Deep is My Silo ?
When done well, Newspapers can represent some the best examples of information design. When your sole purpose is to present loads of textual/graphic information to be consumed in-full by everyone, you get good at designing for just that or you perish in the marketplace.
When newspapers and other print publications took their products to the Web, they were armed with what they thought was relevant design expertise. But this theretofore expertise turned to hubris when they failed to accurately recognize the constraints of this new medium. Their design and layout experience caused them to hold precious their deep columnar silo approach to sectional information presentation.
Examples of poor online main page (index) layout:
* Wall Street Journal
* L.A. Times
* NPR
While many publications have caught on to the differences between print and Web media, the results of that initial hubris survive even today with many publications taken online. It is common to find news or magazine website main pages laid out in narrow vertical columns for sectional or contextual organization. This convention is almost always problematic, as the following facts point out.
In Print
* High resolution—comparatively easy to read
* Pages are largely vertical in nature
* A person can see and visually take in a large area of content (on a gatefold or
newspaper spread) at one time, so many items or department references in a layout
are all visible at the same time
* Typically, the section/article index is not a primary area for content consumption
Seldom any need to scan many contextually different sections at one time in one
area
For online newspaper/magazine main pages..
* Low resolution—comparatively difficult to read
* The screen is largely horizontal in nature ( because of and necessitating
scrolling ).
* Much of the page content is hidden below or above the visible screen area
* Main page content usually comprises a vast index of content, broken up into
distinct and contextually different sections—but this index is a primary content
consumption area
When news main page sections are laid out in vertical columns of varying heights placed side-by-side it requires that a reader practice one of 2 irritating methods of content consumption:
1) scroll downward to scan a column’s or section’s content and then go back up to do the same with another column or section, or
2) scan horizontally across adjacent columns of differing contexts, then scroll down and repeat the process, etc…
The first option is tedious and requires that we scroll up and down a number of times in order to consume the page in a contextual manner. The second option requires that we must examine part of 2 or 3 or more different departments/contexts, then scroll down to get the rest of some of these sections while introducing new departments/contexts. This option involves contextual schizophrenia.
The best method is to acknowledge the horizontal nature of the medium ( especially with regard to information-rich indexes online ) and lay out your departments and contexts in a horizontal manner. Horizontal browsing of information is far more comfortable for people than is vertical browsing of information (when reading). This allows readers to consume the entirety of one or more departments’ offering(s) and then scroll down for a different sort of information. With this method scrolling can become basically a one-time affair and there is no contextual dissipation of information.
Examples of better online main page (index) layout:
* Times Online
* Time Magazine
Examples of excellent online main page (index) layout:
* MSNBC
* New York Post
Verbatim online mimicry of print media ignores vital differences in medium. New media is not new any longer and this sophomoric layout practice should be ended. So long as online newspapers and other publications continue to hold precious the idea of visual similarity to printed newspapers, they will fail to best serve their readers. Online publication designers should start being designers rather than legacy form production artists.
Conclusion
Every new medium or environment brings opportunities for missteps, and it is inevitable that initial efforts in these environments will utilize practices that are later found to be lacking. This is the case with centered 3-column layouts and vertically oriented columns in news index layouts.
With the examples of clear problems inherent with these (and other) layouts, it suggests that we designers should ever reexamine things we typically regard as standard practices. Making a regular practice of regarding any given medium or environment as a new frontier rather than one fully explored, it becomes easier to be a real designer and to actually do our job.
These examples are, like most of our design issues, contextual in nature. When we first pay attention to contextual matters, designing for any given medium or circumstance becomes easier and mistakes like these are easier to avoid. I sincerely hope that the problematic example websites cited in this article are fixed soon for the benefit of their users/readers/customers. But if they’re not, it certainly provides more opportunities for their competitors. Such is the nature of the marketplace.
Source : Killing Some Bad Layout Conventions
1. The user must know what the site is about in seconds: attention is one the most valuable currencies on the Internet. If a visitor can not figure what your site is about in a couple of seconds, he will probably just go somewhere else. Your site must communicate why I should spend my time there, and FAST!
2. Make the content scannable: this is the Internet, not a book, so forget large blocks of text. Probably I will be visiting your site while I work on other stuff so make sure that I can scan through the entire content. Bullet points, headers, subheaders, lists. Anything that will help the reader filter what he is looking for.
3. Do not use fancy fonts that are unreadable: sure there are some fonts that will give a sophisticated look to your website. But are they readable? If your main objective is to deliver a message and get the visitors reading your stuff, then you should make the process comfortable for them.
4. Do not use tiny fonts: the previous point applies here, you want to make sure that readers are comfortable reading your content. My Firefox does have a zooming feature, but if I need to use on your website it will probably be the last time I visit it.
5. Do not open new browser windows: I used to do that on my first websites. The logic was simple, if I open new browser windows for external links the user will never leave my site. WRONG! Let the user control where he wants the links to open. There is a reason why browsers have a huge “Back” button. Do not worry about sending the visitor to another website, he will get back if he wants to (even porn sites are starting to get conscious regarding this point lately…).
6. Do not resize the user’s browser windows: the user should be in control of his browser. If you resize it you will risk to mess things up on his side, and what is worse you might lose your credibility in front of him.
7. Do not require a registration unless it is necessary: lets put this straight, when I browse around the Internet I want to get information, not the other way around. Do not force me to register up and leave my email address and other details unless it is absolutely necessary (i.e. unless what you offer is so good that I will bear with the registration).
8. Never subscribe the visitor for something without his consent: do not automatically subscribe a visitor to newsletters when he registers up on your site. Sending unsolicited emails around is not the best way to make friends.
9. Do not overuse Flash: apart from increasing the load time of your website, excessive usage of Flash might also annoy the visitors. Use it only if you must offer features that are not supported by static pages.
10. Do not play music: on the early years of the Internet web developers always tried to successfully integrate music into websites. Guess what, they failed miserably. Do not use music, period.
11. If you MUST play an audio file let the user start it: some situations might require an audio file. You might need to deliver a speech to the user or your guided tour might have an audio component. That is fine. Just make sure that the user is in control, let him push the “Play” button as opposed to jamming the music on his face right after he enters the website.
12. Do not clutter your website with badges: first of all, badges of networks and communities make a site look very unprofessional. Even if we are talking about awards and recognition badges you should place them on the “About Us” page.
13. Do not use a homepage that just launches the “real” website: the smaller the number of steps required for the user to access your content, the better.
14. Make sure to include contact details: there is nothing worse than a website that has no contact details. This is not bad only for the visitors, but also for yourself. You might lose important feedback along the way.
15. Do not break the “Back” button: this is a very basic principle of usability. Do not break the “Back” button under any circumstance. Opening new browser windows will break it, for instance, and some Javascript links might also break them.
16. Do not use blinking text: unless your visitors are coming straight from 1996, that is.
17. Avoid complex URL structures: a simple, keyword-based URL structure will not only improve your search engine rankings, but it will also make it easier for the reader to identify the content of your pages before visiting them.
18. Use CSS over HTML tables: HTML tables were used to create page layouts. With the advent of CSS, however, there is no reason to stick to them. CSS is faster, more reliable and it offers much more features.
19. Make sure users can search the whole website: there is a reason why search engines revolutionized the Internet. You probably guessed it, because they make it very easy to find the information we are looking for. Do not neglect this on your site.
22. If you are linking to PDF files disclose it: ever clicked on a link only to see your browser freezing while Acrobat Reader launches to open that (unrequested) PDF file? That is pretty annoying so make sure to explicit links pointing to PDF files so that users can handle them properly.
23. Do not confuse the visitor with many versions: avoid confusing the visitor with too many versions of your website. What bandwidth do I prefer? 56Kbps? 128Kbps? Flash or HTML? Man, just give me the content!
24. Do not blend advertising inside the content: blending advertising like Adsense units inside your content might increase your click-through rate on the short term. Over the long run, however, this will reduce your readership base. An annoyed visitor is a lost visitor.
25. Use a simple navigation structure: sometimes less is more. This rule usually applies to people and choices. Make sure that your website has a single, clear navigation structure. The last thing you want is to confuse the reader regarding where he should go to find the information he is looking for.
26. Avoid “intros”: do not force the user to watch or read something before he can access to the real content. This is plain annoying, and he will stay only if what you have to offer is really unique.
27. Do not use FrontPage: this point extends to other cheap HTML editors. While they appear to make web design easier, the output will be a poorly crafted code, incompatible with different browsers and with several bugs.
28. Make sure your website is cross-browser compatible: not all browsers are created equal, and not all of them interpret CSS and other languages on the same way. Like it or not, you will need to make your website compatible with the most used browsers on the market, else you will lose readers over the long term.
29. Make sure to include anchor text on links: I confess I used to do that mistake until some time ago. It is easier to tell people to “click here”. But this is not efficient. Make sure to include a relevant anchor text on your links. It will ensure that the reader knows where he is going to if he clicks the link, and it will also create SEO benefits for the external site where the link is pointing.
30. Do not cloak links: apart from having a clear anchor text, the user must also be able to see where the link is pointing on the status bar of his browser. If you cloak your links (either because they are affiliate ones or due to other reasons) your site will lose credibility.
31. Make links visible: the visitor should be able to recognize what is clickable and what is not, easily. Make sure that your links have a contrasting color (the standard blue color is the optimal most of the times). Possibly also make them underlined.
32. Do not underline or color normal text: do not underline normal text unless absolutely necessary. Just as users need to recognize links easily, they should not get the idea that something is clickable when in reality it is not.
33. Make clicked links change color: this point is very important for the usability of your website. Clicked links that change color help the user to locate himself more easily around your site, making sure that he will not end up visiting the same pages unintentionally.
34. Do not use animated GIFs: unless you have advertising banners that require animation, avoid animated GIFs. They make a site look unprofessional and detract the attention from the content.
35. Make sure to use the ALT and TITLE attributes for images: apart from having SEO benefits the ALT and TITLE attributes for images will play an important role for blind users.
36. Do not use harsh colors: if the user is getting a headache after visiting your site for 10 consecutive minutes, you probably should pick a better color scheme. Design the color palette around your objectives (i.e. deliver a mood, let the user focus on the content, etc.).
37. Do not use pop ups: this point refers to pop ups of any kind. Even user requested pop ups are a bad idea given the increasing amount of pop blockers out there.
38. Avoid Javascript links: those links execute a small Javascript when the user clicks on them. Stay away from them since they often create problems for the user.
39. Include functional links on your footer: people are used to scrolling down to the footer of a website if they are not finding a specific information. At the very least you want to include a link to the Homepage and possibly a link to the “Contact Us” page.
40. Avoid long pages: guess what, if the user needs to scroll down forever in order to read your content he will probably just skip it altogether. If that is the case with your website make it shorter and improve the navigation structure.
41. No horizontal scrolling: while some vertical scrolling is tolerable, the same can not be said about horizontal scrolling. The most used screen resolution nowadays is 1024 x 768 pixels, so make sure that your website fits inside it.
42. No spelling or grammatical mistakes: this is not a web design mistake, but it is one of the most important factors affecting the overall quality of a website. Make sure that your links and texts do not contain spelling or grammatical mistakes.
43. If you use CAPTCHA make sure the letters are readable: several sites use CAPTCHA filters as a method of reducing spam on comments or on registration forms. There is just one problem with it, most of the times the user needs to call his whole family to decipher the letters.
Source : http://www.dailyblogtips.com/43-web-design-mistakes-you-should-avoid/
Both large and small corporate organizations have become conscious of the fact that the World Wide Web gives them instant availability to their corporate clients. You can operate your business with total flexibility and efficiency, all with the single click of a mouse. One of the best reasons for going online is to provide your clientele with customized web page information to meet all their needs at the same time.
With fifty-one percent of corporate businesses indicating that the internet has improved their profitability and helped their business expand; going online is a great way to not only improve your business, but make it more versatile and adaptable in today's fast paced world as well.
Common web design features of Corporate Organizations
Some common and poplar web design features of corporate organizations include:
Photo Albums
On Photo Albums page corporate organizations put the images of their company and employees
Guest Books
Site visitors post entries in an online guest book providing you with useful information about your site and its features.
Message Boards
visitors to post their messages and queries on an online message board or discussion forum
Contact Page
This page includes a list of high level staff such as CEO's, CFO's, MD's, HRM's and members of the Board of Directors that clients can contact within your organization along with a phone number and/or email address.
Links Page
Link pages in and out of your corporate website and organize the pages under headings.
Site Map/ Table of contents
This map or table of contents of the site will help clients to easily navigate their way around the website as it lists the pages in the index along with a description of those pages.
Area Map
Link to online maps showing your office locations on a national and global scale.
Multimedia area
An embedded audio, video or flash file, which is usually about your company, its history and achievements and your work in the community.
FAQ page
This page is a list of questions with links to the answers frequently asked about your organization it its inner workings. FAQ stands for Frequently Asked Questions page.
Corporate reports
Here clients can download or view corporate reports and reviews of your organization.
Custom Feedback Form
Ask questions about your site and get clientele feedback if any improvements or revisions should be made.
Auto responder
A page that lets visitors enter their email address and have a message mailed to them automatically.
Mailing List / Newsletters
Allows clients to subscribe and unsubscribe from a mailing list or newsletter.
Calendar
Post special events on an online calendar.
Articles & Press Releases
Post articles and press releases online about your organization and its achievements.
Careers
A page about career opportunities in your organization.
Products & Services
This page lists and discuss the product and services offered by your organization.
Source: Features of Web Designs for Corporate Organizations
If novice can work their way around a photo manipulation or page layout program, why do designers still charge large figures for their services ?
Today’s designer must wear many hats, and I’ll talk about some of them here.
The problem solving hat
Designers are presented with a problem, and it’s their task to find a solution. The problem could be to set a business apart from its competition by using an effective logo design, or to increase product sales with a cleverly designed advertising campaign. Whatever the initial brief, there’s a clearly defined problem and the designer puts on their thinking hat.
The teaching hat
By educating clients, customer-satisfaction is improved and the designer is more likely to be called upon in the future. What might a designer teach? File preparation is an important part of the print production process, and a lot of my time is spent educating clients about file types. You’d be surprised just how many of my clients don’t understand that a thumbnail image off a website can’t be used for a full-size A3 poster. This design guide for print provides a little more info.
The graphic designer hat
This is actually just one function of a modern-day designer. Ask any self-employed designer just how much time they spend designing and you’ll probably be surprised at the answer. I can’t say for sure how long I spend actually designing, but I think it’s between 25% to 40%.
The salesperson hat
Whether it be attracting new clients or selling an idea, graphic designers need to have enough confidence in their own ability to persuade a client that they’re making the right decision. Every design pitch must be treated like a sale. When meeting people for the first time, I make sure to focus at least my first three questions on topics not related to business. It’s much easier to develop a relationship with a person than it is a business, so don’t be pushy.
The manager hat
Accounting is a vital aspect of my business operations, and I’ve not yet reached the stage where I need to outsource, or take on an extra employee. I process my own tax returns once every year, and calculate my VAT returns every three months. This needs the manager hat, taking a step back from the creative side of work and focusing on the numbers. Time management and project management are also encompassed by this hat.
To summarize
Whilst it’s clear that the role of graphic designers has changed, it still remains an extremely creative industry. Of course, designers aren’t the only ones who must wear different hats in their profession.
Source : http://www.successful-blog.com/1/the-5-hats-of-graphic-designers/
If you'd like to create and publish your own web site on the Internet, your first step should be to decide what type of web site you would like to create and what web design language you would like to use.
Although there are several web design languages to choose from, make sure you take some time to research your options to ensure you're making the best choice for your project.
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
The easiest and most popular web design language is Hypertext Markup Language, better known as HTML. This language is so simple you can type the syntax into a text editor, such as Notepad, save it with an .html extension and instantly have a web page.
You can learn more about HTML here:
http://www.w3schools.com/html/
Although HTML will enable you to create simple web sites, if you want something more dynamic, you'll need to look into using other languages:
PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP)
PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor, better known as PHP, is a highly popular, server-side scripting language that can be embedded directly into HTML coding.
PHP can do anything that CGI (Common Gateway Interface) can do, such as process form data and auto generate dynamic content. However, PHP can do much more. It can be used on all major operating systems and supports most web servers.
PHP's main focus is development for the web, so it has a quick development time and can solve scenarios much quicker than some of the other web design languages.
You can learn more about PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor here:
http://www.php.net/
ColdFusion
ColdFusion, developed by Macromedia, is used to build and serve web pages. It consists of ColdFusion Studio, which is used to create web pages, and ColdFusion Server, which is used to display the web pages.
One of the best features of ColdFusion is the ability to create web pages 'on the fly' from content stored within a database.
For example, a variety of content can be placed within a database as 'pieces of content.' When a user types in the web address to retrieve the web page, ColdFusion dynamically develops the pages, from the 'pieces of content,' as they are served.
Although it is very reliable, ColdFusion may be better suited for larger companies rather than individuals, as it is fairly expensive.
You can learn more about ColdFusion here:
http://macromedia.com/support/coldfusion/tutorial_index.html
Java Server Pages (JSP)
Java Server Pages, also known as JSP, is a web design language developed by Sun Microsystems. It is used to control web page content via servlets, which are little programs that run on a web server. These servlets modify the web page on the server prior to it being displayed within a web browser.
The JSP technology enables you to combine regular, static HTML with dynamically generated HTML.
You can learn more about Java Server Pages here:
http://java.sun.com/products/jsp/docs.html
Active Server Pages (ASP)
Active Server Pages, also known as ASP, is Microsoft's solution to dynamic, interactive web pages.
Active Server Pages are web pages that contain scripts in addition to the standard HTML tags. These scripts are processed prior to a web page being displayed within a web browser.
Unlike standard HTML pages that have an .html or .htm extension, Active Server Pages have an .asp extension.
An advantage of ASP is that it is language-independent and therefore is easy to use across all platforms and applications. It is very flexible and powerful, yet some people don't like it merely because it is a Microsoft product.
You can learn more about Active Server Pages here:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnasp/html/asptutorial.asp
Conclusion
With so many different web design languages to choose from, which is the best language for your project? That will depend on your web site needs and how much time and/or money you're willing to invest.
If you want a simple web site with text and images, HTML is definitely the way to go. Not only is it easy to learn, but there are also many HTML editors available online that will write the code for you.
Although HTML is usually the right choice for most, if you'd like your web site to be dynamic, you will need to research some of the other languages until you find the best solution for your project.
Take your time and do your homework before you begin. If you don't feel confident in your ability to create your own web site, hire a professional. It will save you a lot of time and trouble in the long run.
About the Author:
Shelley Lowery is the author of the acclaimed web design course, Web Design Mastery. http://www.webdesignmastery.com Visit Web-Source.net to sign up for your complimentary subscription to Etips and receive a copy of Shelley's acclaimed ebooks, "Killer Internet Marketing Strategies" and "Work from Home: A Complete Guide..." http://www.web-source.net
Today, internet has become a very important media in business world. According to a statistics, almost 70% of the the total business in the world is running over internet. A natural question arises that how does people running their millionaire business over internet? The answer lies with web site design and web site development, designing and search engine optimization. I'll discuss Search engine Optimization in my next article. Lets discuss about Website Design and Development.
Web Site Development
Most of you must be familiar with web site design and web site development and must be thinking that is their any issue discussing about it. Yes. All of us who works on internet has now or later must have developed one site or at least seen one. There are many website development company who develops site for others. What do you notice when you look at a website. Its beauty, images, flashes etc. Most of us go well impressed by such sites when we look at it. But that is not enough for a site to be just marvelous. There are some thing we must keep in mind before we develop and design a web site.
Do not use too much images and flashes.
Images and Flashes are no doubt make your site more visible and attractive but those are not good for search engines. Hence avoid using images and flashes as much as you think its okay for your site unless you are going to have a strong outer promotion for your site, in absence of which your site traffic basically depends on search engines.
Good Content
Use good content in your site and relative to what you are selling. Users and spiders like those sites which provide useful contents for visitors. It will be an added advantage if you'll keep updating your site's content on some regular basis. But keep in mind that you don't provide irrelevant content, i.e. something your are not dealing with. It can irritate your visitors.
Make a user friendly site
Users like a easy navigation on site. They don't want to keep moving and moving all through the site and not getting for which they have visited your site. So, keep your site template simple and easy for novice users. Connect your pages through simple links. Don't let user play hide and seek on your site.
Use ALT tags for images
Use alt tags for the images your are keeping on your site. It helps with the search engines. Since the spiders can't see those image they read those ALT tags, so you may use your keywords in your ALT tags. But don't over do it because some search engines may consider it as spam.
Title, and Meta Tags
Use descriptive titles but make it limited to 50-60 characters. Write a description of about two to three lines specifying details about the particular page. Do not stuff it with keywords. In keyword meta tag, write as much keywords as much you want. Generally most of the search engines do not read keyword meta tags including Google, but still some do go through them like Yahoo. Keep you keywords up to 250 characters. Make different title and meta tags for each page rather than copying the same for each page.
Genie Jones writes about Web Site Design Company In India and Web Site Development In India.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Genie_Jones