Why Hire a Professional Web Designer?

This is a good question: why would you spend your hard earned cash on a web design service when there are so many other cheaper options available? Many web hosting companies these days offer free site building services and templates where little to no technical skill is required.

So what are the advantages of hiring a Professional Web Designer?

• A Unique Design tailored to your requirements – free web building tools are inflexible when it comes to design, and you will have limited options on colours, fonts, layout etc. A professional web designer will work with you to produce a design concept that incorporates your company logo and colours and projects the image you want for your business and make you stand out from your competitors.
  
  
• Marketing Your Website – a professional designer knows how to design your site for optimum performance in search engines such as Google (Search Engine Optimisation or SEO). A good quality web designer will, as a matter of course, design your site in a “search engine friendly” manner. Your designer will also be able to advise (and implement) methods of promoting your website, for example email marketing and list building. By employing a professional, you will attain the highest possible ROI for your business.
  
  
• Expert Support – if something goes wrong with your website, you will have the support of experts to solve technical issues that are not within your area of expertise.

The phrase “you get what you pay for” is certainly true in the instance of web design and development. So if your objective for your website is to produce an effective means of communication with your customers, project a professional image and increasing the bottom line, then investing in a professional web designer is well worth the expense.

Three Web Design Turnoff's

A well designed site is paramount to the success of your business. Research has shown that there are three main elements of your website, that if designed incorrectly, can turn your customers off (and away!)

1. Colours
Colours should be easy-on-the eye, in harmony and enhance the readability of the text on the page. Avoid bright coloured backgrounds under text. Try to keep your colour scheme to three to four complimenting colours.

2. Music
This is a turnoff for most people. However if you feel you absolutely must have music on your site, be sure to give the visitor a way to turn it off. Giving them a choice may be the difference between the visitor staying or leaving your site to go to your competitor!

3. Poor Navigation
Your site navigation should be structured in a simple and clear manner and should be consistent across every page on your site. A big turnoff for your visitor is not being able to find what they are looking for – it is the job of a good web designer to ensure your visitor always knows where they are on your site and can easily return to the home page at any time. Most people these days are time-poor and do not want to waste precious time navigating through a poorly designed website.

A well designed site can dramatically improve your credibility in the eyes of your visitor and will ultimately lead to increased visitors and sales from your site.

Six Easy Steps to get your Business Online

Step 1 - Stop Procrastinating - Make the Decision Now!
Not having a website is like not having a listing in your local Yellow Pages. If you are marketing a product or service and you are not advertising where your competition is, you will find yourself left behind. So make the decision now to get your business online! It is not as hard as you may think.

Step 2 – Choose a Web Developer
A good web developer will be the key in making your online presence a success. Choose a developer who can provide you with client testimonials and examples of their work. Your web developer should be able to help and advise you through all the phases of your web development.

Step 3 - Determine what you want your website to do
In conjunction with your web developer and taking into consideration your type of business, determine what you would like to achieve from your website. For example, do you want to:
• Communicate with customers
• Provide information about existing products and services
• Sell products via the website (e-commerce)
• Develop your customer base locally, nationally and overseas
• A tool to promote customer retention such as customer loyalty schemes or e-newsletters.

Step 4 – Choose Your Domain Name
A domain name is your own unique identity and should be easy to remember and relevant to your business. Key points to remember when considering a domain name are:• Size - The smaller the better. • Easy to remember - avoid the use of unusual or long words• Related to your business - It is not always possible but if you can get your domain name exactly as your business name that would be the best case scenario, for example www.mycompany.com.au. Your web developer will be able to determine the availability of a domain name and register your domain name on your behalf.

Step 5 - Plan Your Content
Keeping in mind the objectives of your website as determined in Step 3 , decide and plan how many pages you will need and what these pages should contain, including any interactivity you may require such as contact forms or e-commerce. Source suitable images for your site or your web developer may be able to provide generic images for use on your site. Throughout this planning phase a good web developer will work with you to help and advise on your content. But remember – a website is always a work in progress and changes can be made at any time - that is the beauty of the web!

Step 6 - Approve and Go Live!
At this stage your web developer will put together a design concept for you and present the site to you via a testing server, including all the content you have developed in Step 5. Once final approval on design and content has been approved by you, the client, your web developer will make the site live and accessible on the world wide web.

Whats In A Domain Name

A domain name is an address that is used on the Internet to locate web sites or email addresses. It is a valuable part of your business identity and an important marketing tool.

It is important to have a unique domain name as it makes it easier for your customers to remember your website and find you online. Web addresses which your customers can easily identify with will assist your business build a presence on the Internet. Avoid using long and complicated words in your domain name. Short and simple is best.

There are two main types of domain names:

- domain names that end in .com, .net, .biz etc are available for use by anyone around the world and are generally referred to as ‘globaldomain names’.
- domain names that end with a ‘country extension’ such as com.au, org.au, net.au. In Australia this is referred to as the ‘.audomain space’ and is administered by .au Domain Administration Ltd (auDA).

Deciding on whether to have an Australian or global domain name depends on your business interests. Generally, businesses based in Australia choose a domain name ending in ‘.au’.

Businesses operating globally in any country sometimes choose to have a global domain name.
It is a misconception that because you already have a company or business name you have an automatic right to register the corresponding domain name. This is not true. No-one has an automatic right to a domain name. Domain names are licensed on a “first come, first served” basis to eligible applicants.

We can help you determine if a domain name is available for registration and offer alternatives if your first choice is not available. As part of our service, Total e Solutions can register your domain name on your behalf at competitive prices. Domain names and web hosting can be bundled as part of a package for those wishing to establish a new website.