What your website's homepage needs to have.

What your website's homepage needs to have.

Word Count:

462

Summary:

This article is all about the essential things your website should have to make it a user-friendly website and to keep new clients interested and current clients interested.

Keywords:

website, webdesign , SOHO , small business , home based business , designer

Article Body:

The homepage (the front page of your website) is where you and your company get to make a first impression and we all know what they say about first impressions.. It's the first place new visitors come and where old visitors come back. You must cater to both types of customers. There are a few things that are essential to your homepage and each is explained below.

Navigation

Navigation is the most important part of your homepage. It doesn't matter what else is on your site, if the visitors can't get there. On your homepage your visitors need to be able to reach every part of your site. Your links on your navigation bars should be the same on every page. Your visitor will then know how to get back to whatever page really interested him. When users cannot find what they want they simple look at another site. This is a fact. Your links on the navigation bars should also be simple (one or two words) but descriptive. Use text for navigation not buttons. Buttons look great but they take time to download and you don't want your visitors to leave before they can see the whole page, do you?


Branding

Branding is another essential element for you homepage. I am sure that your small business has a logo and it's pasted on everything you can find, to promote your business. Well, it should be posted in a predominate place on your website too. We all know that branding is words or a mark of a company (such as a logo) that shows the consumer the identity of the producer of the product/service. Showing your logo on your homepage reminds users exactly where they are.

Content

Last but not least is content. Content is also very important. You must remember to write your content like you are speaking to your visitor as it creates a better connection between your website and the visitor. Your homepage content must be fresh and interesting to make them want to read more of your site. You might create links to the inside of your site in the text. Also, you will want to include in layman's terms exactly what you or your company does. You would be amazed how many websites you have to search to find out what their purpose is.


These things should get you started on building your homepage. There is one rule that I have learned. It is the KISS rule (Keep it Simple Student). Your homepage does not need to be flashy with all types of images, and flash design, or blinking. Most people like sites when they are simple and easy to understand. You must remember who your audience is. Therefore you need to speak in their language.

How To Choose The Right Web Site Builder For Your Web Design Needs

How To Choose The Right Web Site Builder For Your Web Design Needs

Word Count:

538

Summary:

Web site builders are a relatively new addition to the web hosting company's mix of products and services. Website builders have been introduced mainly to service the majority who don't know how to program in HTML or any other programming knowledge but still want to control and flexibility that comes from creating and maintain your own website. Using a good web site builder can make your life much easier.

How can you find a web site builder that meets your needs? First, yo...

Keywords:

web site builder,website builder,create a web site,build a web site

Article Body:

Web site builders are a relatively new addition to the web hosting company's mix of products and services. Website builders have been introduced mainly to service the majority who don't know how to program in HTML or any other programming knowledge but still want to control and flexibility that comes from creating and maintain your own website. Using a good web site builder can make your life much easier.

How can you find a web site builder that meets your needs? First, you have to know what you really need. What are you planning to do with your website? If it is just simple stuff like putting up a personal website and throwing a few pictures up for friends and family to see, you won't need too much. It is a safe bet that pretty much any web site builder will work for you. If on the other hand, you plan on making sales from your website and doing some serious business and traffic from it, you'll want to be sure that the site builder you choose will be up to the challenge.

Look for a free trial or a free demo you can use to test out the functionality of the site builder. Most companies will let you take their website builder for a spin before you buy. Having the chance to work with the web site builder before you commit to it can make a big difference as to your comfort level before you buy. You'll get a chance to put the site builder through its paces and decide whether it meets your needs.

Are you locked in to their templates or can you build your own from scratch? Many web site builders out there will force you to use their templates and not allow you to make any significant changes to the template. If you can't find a template from their selection that you like, you'll simply have to deal with it. Know though, that there are some site builders out there that will allow you to strip the template right down to bare bones and build your own custom graphics, headers and footers to create almost any kind of look you want while retaining the easy to use aspect of the site builder.

What else do you get with the web site builder besides a template and some easy to edit text? Do they offer a free domain name? Do they give you enough disk space to host lots of images and pages? How many pages do they let you create? How many sites can you create with their web site builder? If there is a limit, what does it cost to raise the limit on any of these options? Knowing the answers to these and other important questions will allow you to compare apples with apples and oranges with oranges. Two companies may seem to offer the same price point and the same features but you will often find major differences in pricing between the two of them to accomplish what you need.

Do your research and you will be well on your way to a web site builder that meets your needs and gives you quality, professional results at a reasonable price.