Helping Build Better Websites

Author: Kevin Wu (page 1 of 1)

Finding A Good Web Designer

With millions of consumers just a few clicks away, if you’re a business owner, you’ll want to make sure your company has an amazing online profile. However, it’s difficult to invest in developing your first website, especially if you don’t have the first clue where to start. This is where choosing the best web designer can be a perfect solution. A successful website can really benefit your company and impact your success. Every business owner will have an image of how they’d like their website to look, but the challenging part is turning this vision into a reality.

To a professional, however, this will be easy to undertake. Web design experts use a range of skills starting from creative to technological, so they’ll be able to get your unique vision on a screen and out there for the world to see.

Firstly, if your business is just making ground, you’ll want to ensure you keep your costs down and stay within your marketing budget. Even the most highly skilled web designers in their career go through dry spells, so it’s worth searching online for those offering their services at discounted rates.

There are thousands of website designers out on the market, if you know where to look:

  1. Recommendations from Your Colleagues– The most sensible and likely resource to look for a web designer is by asking others in your area. It’s likely that they have a website or know of someone who has just launched a website. If the designer did a good job, they’ll be more than happy to provide you with their contact details. Get started by asking the people in your area that you’re working with regularly. Increase your search by becoming a member of message boards and forums for those in your area and asking the members there for brings on good designers.
  2. Family and Friends– Some of your loved ones may also have had a website done recently or know of someone who has. You may even have a friend or family member who is a designer who will have connections with others in the area that you can consult about.
  3. Trade Organizations and Clubs – If you are a member of a professional or trade organization that may be another resource to find a web professional, especially if the guild has a website. You can also consider going to your area of business for details. Some website designers and agencies may be members.
  4. The Yellow Pages– If you’re not satisfied with choosing a web designer outside of your regional community, the Yellow pages and the White pages of your phone book, might generate some ads from local web professionals. You will get many options under web design and development service. Here you will get professional designer for your project.
  5. Other Websites– While you’re exploring the looks of websites that you like, use this as an opportunity to look for a designer at some point. Often when a freelance designer or design agency publishes a website, they include a small credit that links to their website. The links will usually represent “Site Design by XYZ” or “Site Development by ABC Designs”. These things will have a link to the producer’s website. If you see a website that impresses you, look for these little points on the bottom of the website. If you don’t see one, send an email to the person that operates the website and ask for the name of the designer that developed their website.
  6. Industry Magazines– If you register to any trade or company publications, then look at the classifieds section in the back. It’s likely that you’ll find some results for website designers there. One advantage of using this method is that in most cases these designers already have skills in developing sites for those in your field, so they will be familiar with some of the issues and objectives that you may have.
  7. Online Classifieds– The most popular of these online classifieds sites is Craigslist. If your town is big enough, it may have its own area on C-list, though you are certainly welcome to search other places as well. A lot of web designers and service providers promote their services on C-list, so it’s value time verifying area for your town. You can also publish an ad on the “jobs” or “gigs” area C-list and have the workers contact you instead.
  8. Online Freelance Services– If you want to broaden your search nationally or even internationally but would also like some measure of assurance, using an online Freelance Services might be valued verifying out. There are so many websites who provide a list of freelance web designers. They are too expert and skilled to complete the demand of your business website.

By using the above tips, you can easily find a good web designer or programmer suiting your skills and requirement.

Web Design-Timeless and Trendy

Here is a great video showcasing some trends in web design that you may see a lot of:

Trends tend to have a negative connotation, but as we know evolution in design and technology is occurring faster every day, and it can be beneficial to adapt with trends when they are suitable. So following trends definitely isn’t all bad. This video does a great job of showcasing some trends that are popping up on websites all across the internet. It also shows some wonderful examples of those trends.

  1. Video Background: This can be an awesome element to include in your website. Videos can serve to grab a visitors attention immediately which is increasingly important with the many options available. A good quality video background can grab attention, entertain, or inform among other functions that can be very beneficial and identifying for a lot of different types of websites. A good video background is not just visually appealing it is also optimized for the internet. If a video looks beautiful and has amazing production value, but completely slows down the loading of a webpage or fails to load altogether, then it does way more harm than good. Page load speed is a vital function to consider in web development. This is especially important when it comes to optimizing a website for mobile viewing which is where more and more people are accessing websites.
  2. Asymmetrical Layout: This is in contrast to the ubiquitous grid layout seen on many websites. This can be great for certain types of websites as it provides an interesting and identifiable visual style and function. An asymmetrical layout can allow a site to standout and be a more fun and refreshing way to navigate. However, the same trendy layout could provide unwanted problems for other types of websites. If there is a lot of content the asymmetrical style could lead to a sight looking very unorganized and visually displeasing which might induce a lot of visitors to leave. As with any web design trend it is important to critically analyze cost vs. benefit when deciding whether to implement a change.
  3. Unique Page-Flow: File this web design trend in the same place as asymmetrical layout. It can offer similar advantages providing a unique and refreshing way to navigate a website. It can also be a disaster for the presentation of certain types of content. Page-flow is meant to flow, so if it doesn’t, then it is not working.
  4. Interactive Content: This is a trend that you will see a lot and one that I think is here to stay. When someone is physically and virtually participating with a website they are engaged and more likely to be interested in the website as a whole. Creative iterations of interactive content are very powerful and can be very enjoyable for a visitor. If visitor enjoys their experience you can bet they will stay and keep coming back. Interactive content is common on dating websites, hookup apps, and other adult sites. It can also be seen on online retail sites, and social apps as well. On the other hand, interactive content can go very wrong. It can be frustrating or boring which is the exact opposite experience we want for visitors to our website. So it is very important to design this type of content carefully with great consideration of UX. Testing and garnering feedback is highly recommended.
  5. Minimalism: This seems less like a web design trend and more like a timeless good practice. Elegance through simplicity can be found in almost any successful website. Keep It Simple Stupid has never been more applicable then when it comes to web design. Good web developers look at every aspect on the front and back end and critically analyze whether all elements are serving a valuable purpose. If they are not they are removed or improved so that they are. This results in a much better end product.