Wed design For You!!

Web site design starts with knowing your GOAL.
Designs4Sites.com is for anyone interested in web site design.

Overview:


- Concept (mission statement)
- Visualization (storyboard)
- Analysis (testing concepts)
- Production (content, xhtml and testing)
- Evolution (updating)

Layout's most common form is:
distributed top and left margin.

Margins will be for your content links, logo
and banner adds.
For sites with a large amount of content (50 pages+)
even distribution may be required in the form of columns.
These sites no more than four columns.

Content Dictates Design, Color and Complexity

All elements such as images, color and links are there
to guide the reader through the content.

Database driven content is more flexible for dynamic sites.

Mortising is piecing together images/content using tables.

Some facts to consider in design:
Monitor Resolution being used
1024x768 50%
800x600 40%
640x480 01%
others 09%

Color Depth being used
32bit 50%
16bit 33%
24bit 15%
8bit 02%

Often pro's will still design for 640x480 resolution
because of minimal content or loading time; however,
213 web safe color palette is dead (02%)
Many top designers still aim for total page size of 50KB.

E-Commerce can best be described as, the electronic
exchange of information between a buyer and a seller.
The biggest advantages of e-commerce are:
- speed
- accuracy
- efficiency
- cost savings
- global market

Business Models
B2B (business to business) high volume,
lower priced items, overall higher transaction value.
B2C (business to consumer) such as an at home user;
low volume, lower margin and often a greater choice,
to world-wide consumers.


Storefronts
In-House Solution to costly for average business.
Must develop (or buy) and maintain software,
hardware and internet connection.
Instant storefront
Online Storefront Solution has the entire
commerce package on the server and is supplied
as a service at a monthly fee. (very little
technical or control required by merchant)
Offline Storefront Solution gives some control
to merchant to develop storefront look while
offline and then ftp onto server.

E-commerce is the new economy; Brick and Mortar
businesses must adapt or fail, this is the reality.

The 7 essential ingredients for success:
- Generate demand
- Ordering
- Fulfillment
- Processing payments
- Service and support
- Community

There is a need to redesign 20 million sites.
XHTML is the new reality in design; it uses XML/HTML 4.01.
It is case sensitive and all tags must be closed.
All attributes must have a value.
CSS (cascading style sheets) is used for all formatting,
leaving only the structure to html.
Include files (covered in server-side) allows modular coding.

Three image formats for the web

GIF: 256 colors, 89a for animation, best used for;
line drawings, text, solid colors and transparencies.
JPEG: 16 million colors best used for; photos,
drop shadows and graduations.
PNG: under used on the web, best of both GIF and JPEG.

Tables used for Page Structure

I am not going to give a tutorial on tables; however,
it is important to mention that tables are the only
effective way we have at this time, to place elements
on the page in a controlled manner.

Diagramming
out a page using tables is the first step.
This is more a concept of layout and the placement
of cells in such a way to control the design.
A sketch pad and pencil approach is required for anything
more than your basic 2 rows 2 columns page.
At this point one should be working with a WYSIWYG editor,
(to speed up your coding of your tables) and using notepad
to tweak the code. Frames... I'm not covering, because
I have better thing to talk to you about (let me just say
if you have to you have to, if not, don't).

Some web hosts offer Fantastico which automatically installs scripts and site building templates are often part of the offerings. Many webmasters don’t know how to create their own websites so they need to use these automated templates, buy templates they can customize or hire someone to create their websites for them. Content Management Systems and blogs are two additional options but they are each an article all by themselves.

The site building templates that are available in Fantastico use a MySql database which would give you challenges if you ever needed to reinstall or move the site because you don’t know the password the installer used to set the site up. There are usually only 5 or 10 templates to choose from in each category so your site will have the same look and feel as everyone else that used the site builder in Fantastico. The pages will still need to be downloaded to your computer by FTP and modified so they have your content then uploaded to the server again.

Purchased templates will give you a look that’s similar to every other customer that bought that template. Some of the template creators require links to them remain in the template where they are placed. This promotes the template makers business at the same time you are promoting yours which is okay but the link placement may not be where you’d like it.

With a lot of the templates, you have to look really close to make sure you are on a different page because they often use the site title on every page instead of giving you the option to modify the title and meta tags for each page. Very few templates that I’ve seen are set up with title tags in place for the menu. Templates are often heavy with graphics that make the site look pretty but do absolutely nothing to help sell the content that’ll be on the page. Any page that has graphics that doesn’t help you sell your content is just slowing down the load time of the page.

Templates are pretty and easy for the beginner to work with but you often sacrifice flexibility, room to grow and the ability to make your site as search engine friendly as it could be.

A website is no longer a tool only utilized by large businesses and corporations. Today, even the smaller businesses need a website in order to complete with their competitors.

The problem is, the majority of web designers today still do not think about the little man, aka: small businesses. Their prices and packages simply do not provide what small businesses need in order to gain a web presence. If the price is within the businesses reach, then the package is to small, or they use pre made websites that can be found over and over again on the Internet.

However, web design does not have to be expensive. Here are a few things to avoid when choosing your web designer.

A few common mistakes small business owners make:

1)Template Websites- Templates, sometimes called cookie cutter websites, are pre made designs and set ups of a website. Any number of other websites can use the every same template for their website. In the event that a potential customer has visited a website with a similar template to yours, then chances are they will either not take your business as serious, or reference your business with that website. Ask the potential designer if your website will be unique or made from a template before you do business with them.

2) Hourly Rate Design- Some web design companies offer "hourly rate web design." It has been found that many hourly designers will tell you something takes much longer to complete then it usually does. In this case, you will end up paying for hours of work when the work only actually took a few minutes, or they will hold your website hostage until you do. Look for set packages that list what you will get, no matter how much time it took to complete.

3) High Hosting Charges- Many new business owners and business owners not familiar with the Internet will let their web designer host their website for them. While there is nothing wrong with this, be cautious of the amount you will be paying month for their hosting. Small businesses that only require small website should not pay over $3-$7 a month for hosting. Larger businesses or businesses with large or dynamic websites should never pay over $10-$15 a month. On the other hand, you may find a design company offering free hosting as an introductory offer. If this is true, be sure to ask how much you will be paying for hosting once the offer expires.

4) Long Completion Times- Web design is a complicated process, however, a good designer can finish a website in a rather small amount of time. Be cautious of web designers that take a long time to complete each website. This may be a sign that they may have to much on their plate. If that is the case, then chances are you will not receive the proper attention and care that is needed to make a website a success. Always ask a potential designer how long it typically takes them to finish and publish a website.

Web designers all over the world focus on small business. You just need to make sure you find one. While the large design companies may have large, impressive portfolios, chances are they will not provide the support and attention you need.