Logo Design: Links to Design a Better Logo

1. LogoPond: A great source of Logo Design Inspiration
   
   
2. Corporate 2.0: If Major Corporations had 2.0 Logos
   

Logo Creators: The Fastest Way to a New Logo

Albeit it won’t be the best, this is a great resource for getting a new Logo done fast when you are strapped for time. Also works for creating a placeholder logo while you work on the real deal.

3. Creatr: The Web 2.0 Logo Creator
   
   
4. ImageTool: Online Logo Creator
   
   

Sources for Logo Design Tutorials

Looking for a certain style for your new logo? Between the two sources below, there are 64 logo design tutorials to choose from.

5. eLogoDesign: 50 Logo Design Tutorials
   
   
6. LogoTutorials: 14 Logo Design Tutorials. A few of them are worth a look.
   
   

Some Popular Logo Design Tutorials

Out of all the logo design tutorials available at the sources above, these are some of the ones that got the best feedback.

7. Alleba: How to Make a Web 2.0 Logo
   
   
8. BAMagazine: Designing a Logo with just Letters
   
   
9. SpoonGraphics: Designing a Logo: From Concept Sketches to Completion
   
   
10. DigitalWeb: The Process of Re-designing a Logo
    

Source / Read more at

Logo Design: 10 Links to Help You Design a Better Logo

Free web design resources for website design

To get designing using photoshop you will need some resources to help you. I will quickly run through some different resources which will help you:

Tutorials

Great for people new to designing to get the basics. Also good for some new tricks which people use. Websites I recommend are http://www.good-tutorials.com/ and http://www.pixel2life.com/.

Stock Photos/Images

Everyone needs good photos from time to time to use on their designs. Some good free ones which I use are: http://www.sxc.hu/ and http://www.deviantart.com/.

Free Photoshop Brushes/Shapes/Patterns

These really do come in use when you are designing. You can download a variety of patterns/ brushes and custom shapes for photoshop. The place which I use for this is deviantart.com. You must check the details about each that you download as they are designed by users of the websites and sometimes require link backs.

Free Renders

Renders are images which have been cut so they have no background. Often people use renders of celebrities or characters from computer games. They really do come in use if you know how to use them. A nice site for free renders is http://www.planetrenders.net/. There are also many more so just search around if you can’t find a render which you like from there.

Source : http://uniongraphite.com/web-newbies/free-webdesign-resources

Building Web Sites Using Web Templates

Gone are the days when you had to rely on a web-designer to design your websites. New technologies with innovative ideas have brought out a new variant to this trend in the form of ready to use website templates.

what are web templates ?

Well, to put it in a simple way, web templates are nothing but ready made web-pages that can be used to create websites in seconds! How you ask ? Web templates act as html coded dummy web pages that contain model content. Now these templates can be edited with ease (to add content, graphics, logo, pictures etc) to create professional web pages in less time.

How to edit web templates

Now the next possible question that arises is as how to edit the web templates; isn’t it? That’s simple! Most web templates are editable and can be edited using popular html editors like FrontPage, DreamWeaver, GoLive and Photoshop. These html editors are easy to use and have a friendly interface. You need not be a pro to use them. Anyway in case anyone finds the editing part difficult they can always go for template customization services that are provided by most web template providers.

Are web templates really that green ?

As a matter of fact, web templates can really help you save up lots of money and time and best of all help you do professional work. Just imagine hiring a web designer to design your website. As most of you must be aware, a web designer can charge you anything between $50 to $200 for designing a single web-page! And then there is the time factor. Usually web-designers take a minimum of 10 -15 days to complete a website. Here’s where web templates come to the rescue.

Using a web template to create a website would cost you anything around $20 - $40 and that’s not all; websites designed using web templates could be over within a day after editing and pasting graphics and will look professional too! So now it doesn’t take an extraordinary mind to figure out which is more lucrative.

What about Flash websites ?

Designing a flash website is a real pain and might take lots of time and money. But in case you believe in playing it smart your best bet would be to go for flash website templates. There are many template websites that offer flash website templates of high quality at low costs. All you need to do is insert content and you are ready to go!

Hey wait a minute I need to create a copyrighted website !

No problem ! Almost all website template providers offer an option of copyrighted to non-copyrighted templates. The major different between a copyrighted and a non copyrighted template is the fact that copyrighted templates are sold only once and the purchaser of the copyrighted template gets all user rights over it whereas in a non copyrighted template the rights of usage stays with the template ownership company and can be sold again and again. So in case you need to create a copyrighted website that is unique be sure to go for copyrighted website templates.

How do I find out a quality template from an inferior one ?

Quality web templates have the following features;

1. Web-templates should be editable
2. Web templates should be compatible with popular html editors
3. The coding should be such that there is no alteration in the structure of the template on content/graphic insertion
4. The web template should be easy to upload
5. A webpage generated by a web template should download with ease in any browser

So in case your templates don’t comply with the above, you can be sure they are of inferior quality. Website templates are a great and easy way to host your website. So in case you are game, go for good web template providers. Some good online website template provides are www.buytemplates.net, freewebtemplates.com, dreamweaver-templates.net and trendytemplates.com

Website Design tips to Plan your website

. Define the structure

Give the customer the information they will be looking for and help them find it easily and quickly. If you offer a large range of products, use a search facility, if your products carry a detailed specification, add a “click for specification” button. Keep the structure and progression as simple and logical as possible.

. Save your Credibility

Few things are more likely to cost you customers which are incorrect information or poorly written or misspelled text on your business website. It will destroy your credibility. Read through all your text carefully and double check all the facts, get someone else to proof read it and run the text through a spell checker after checking your language settings (English – US or UK for example). Then do it all again, twice!

. Check Facts, Spelling and Grammar

Use HTML correctly. Even if you use a WYSIWYG editor, a core knowledge will help you sort out the unexpected problems that will inevitably arise. Try to hand code your site in Notepad. If you can do this, you will be able to locate errors extremely quickly.

. Home Page

Provide a way back to your home page on every single page of your site, via a logo, icon or a simple text link.

. Consistentence

If you're planning a consistent look to your site, do yourself an enormous favour, and build a template. Add temporary 'blah blah' text to cover as many options as possible including, heading(s), paragraphs, text highlights, links etc. Build, then tune your style sheets to display these texts to your satisfaction (or HTML tags if you're not using style sheets). When it's all to your satisfaction, THEN add your content! This will save you a huge amount of time.

. Templated Site

You have built a templated site, added content to 100 pages, and now you want to make a major change. Doh! Don't go through each page finding and changing the offending bit by hand. Search for, and download a 'multifile find and replace utility' from the Net, than make all those changes in an instant.

. White Space
You don't have to fill the whole screen with text and graphics. Use 'white space' effectively, and allow elements to breathe.

Source : http://www.3fn.net/guide/Essential_Web_Site_Design_Tips.html

Logo Design - Effort to make a company's identity

Logo design is believed to be one of the most difficult areas in graphic design. A logo is essentially at the heart of a corporate identity. It is the face of an organization!

Logo should :--


• Attract attention and leave an impression


• Create a look that in unique

Reflect the personality of the company

Reproduction costs: The more detailed and colorful the logo design, the more

difficult to reproduce, meaning a higher cost.

The size: The prefect logo design will look great on a sign board as well as on a business card or a pen.

Logo design companies are by the dozen. Take your time, research different companies and designers and compare packages in order to select a logo design company suited to your needs.

Check your competition. What designs, graphics, and colors do they use?

Remember that you need to be competitive.

Trademark your logo. If your logo is trademarked, this prevents competitors and other third parties from stealing it.

And last but not least, when in doubt, K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid).

10 tips to boost Banner Ad campaign

Banner ads use both graphics and text so it is important to consider both elements. With that in mind, here are 10 tips to help you craft an effective banner ad.

1. Study the best examples online. When designing a creative piece like a banner ad, start by identifying the best banner ads that you have seen. The easiest way to do this is to visit the major portals such as MSN.com and look at the different banner ads. Try to identify at least three banner ads that catch your attention and your interest. What, if anything, do these ads have in common ? This will help you understand what techniques are effective, as well as what design style appeals to you.

2. Be clear in your graphics and messaging. Your main objective is to have people take a particular action after viewing your ad. A strong, clear message will help capture their interest. Clear communication requires that you understand your message, what you are selling and the benefit that you are offering potential customers. You will often want your primary message to be the strongest visual element in your ad.



3. Control the file size. How many times have you had to wait on a banner ad before you could view a Web site? To minimize user frustration, you need to limit the file size of your ad. As a general rule a 468 x 60 pixel banner should be 12 kilobytes or less. The easiest way to achieve this is to limit the number of colors you use and save your banner as an animated GIF file.

4. Say it in seven words or less. This is especially important for a banner campaign, where you are limited to a small visual space. Using fewer words means that you can make the font size bigger, which increases the impact of your message. For example, instead of saying "You will be satisfied with the speed and reliability of our plumbing repair services," you could say "Fast, reliable plumbing repairs. Guaranteed."

5. Use power words.

These are single words that immediately communicate a benefit. "Free," "unbelievable," "incredible," "affordable," "heartwarming" -- a brainstorming session will help you create a list of words that are perfect for your campaign.

6. Select images carefully. Adding visuals is like cooking with spices. Too few will lead to a bland banner, while too many will destroy the desired effect. If you want to add an eye-catching graphic, royalty free stock photography is an inexpensive option. There are several Web sites online that offer these images. Using a drawing or chart with a limited number of colors is an effective way to catch the eye while limiting the file size.


7. Use contrast to capture attention. Your ad will likely include these elements: background colors, a bold text message, and a photograph or drawing, and animated. To be effective you need to have contrast between these elements. Contrast can be achieved using different font sizes and bolds and colors.

8. Limit your use of fonts. When designing your ad, try to use no more than two fonts. If you do use two or more fonts be sure to select fonts from different categories. There are three main font categories: serif (which have tiny "feet" on the letters), sans serif (with no decorative "feet") and decorative (which include highly decorative and script or handwritten fonts).

9. Don't overdo it with animation. If you plan to use animation in your ad, there are a few things to consider. You want the animation to draw the eye without offending the online viewer. When setting the animation speed, look for something that changes at a slow to moderate pace. It helps to set your animations so that they stop after three cycles; some sites may insist on this.

10. Less really is more. As you create your design, remember that less cluttered messages will make a stronger impact with the online viewer. Limit the number of elements -- the colors, fonts, graphics and words -- that you use in your ad and ask yourself whether your primary message is clear.

Source : http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/online/banner-advertising/articles/10_tips_for_creating_an_effective_banner_ad_campaign.mspx

Design tips which every website designer should know

1. . Every single feature of your website must either
   
   . Help your visitors achieve their goals , or
   . Support the site's goals without obstructing the visitor's goals
   
2. Color is an individual preference but colors have an affect on people's emotions. You need to go with the flow. If you have a financial investment site then conservative colors seem to follow. If you sell beach items then lots of fun colors apply. First think about your audience and you will know the color scheme.
3. website design should have 3 levels of web pages - no more, no less. Any deeper than this, and visitors can very easily become 'lost. If levels of web pages is less than 3 levels then website appears to be too light weight.
4. Avoid use of bright colours, patterned backgrounds in website as much as possible
5. website that uses templates is not very appealing ( most often ) .
6. Website designer have about 5-6 seconds to make first impression of their website . Therefore, the first screen should display useful info in about 5 seconds.

Brilliant design tips to catch Visitors on Website

Browser/platform compatibility + Professional Design + Quick loading + Simple, excellent, Effective navigation + Provide a whole Site Wide Search + New, Fresh content + Use Accurate, Strong Headlines to Tell Readers what the webpage is About + Use informative description of the page

= a Professional, Competent, User-friendly website

Design an Eye Catching Website

Below are the tips for designing an eye catching website which you will be proud of .

1 Consistency : It is always better to keep your design from page to page consistent so that the visitor knows that he is still in the same site and didn't jump to another site.

The page or site color scheme and navigation should be the same throughout the site.

2 Navigation : Always keep your navigation simple . Tell the visitor which page he is on . This can be done in many ways and the way which I think is the best way is to remove the link from the page which he is on .

For example, Let's suppose that you have the following navigation text on your home page ...

Home -- About Us -- Contact Us -- Services -- Order

Then suppose that the visitor clicked on the services page .

When the services page is loaded then the link which says services will not be a link instead it will be a normal text with different color . That helps the visitor know which page he is on .
If you are using graphic buttons then You can provide a different version of the button and make it without a link .

3 Use Browser Safe Colors : What are browser safe colors anyway? Browser safe colors are 216 colors which remain the same when displayed on any computer or browser.

Colors which are not browser safe may dither when displayed some computers ,meaning if a computer can't display a color 100% it will then display the nearest color to it instead.
So make sure that you use browser safe colors throughout your site.

4 Minimize the use of Graphics : A site with a lot of graphics will take forever to load. Even though graphics make sites better but it is always better to minimize the use of them for many reasons including but not limited to the following :

A lot of Graphics make your site or pages take forever to load which will make the visitor of your website close the page or hit the back button .

Search Engine Spiders have problems with graphics because they will not be able to index any page that has a lot of graphics .

Of course you can use small, yet fast loading graphics instead of the big ones . Also You can use them as a table or cell background but make sure that the text is readable before the background image is loaded.

And don't forget to use the ALT tag for all of your images .

5 Flash : Flash is is much like the graphics . Even though Flash brings your site to life but avoid using a lot of it on your site because that will make it load forever .

You can use small Flash animations and also You should give the url of the Flash Plug-in for the visitors who haven't got the Flash Player on their computer.

After all You want people to be able to see your Flash animations .
So don't over use it because they say Flash is evil.

6 Frames : Frames are not good for many things including but not limited to the following :

Search engines have problems with them .

. The links can be opened into the wrong frame.
. Distracting scroll bars are displayed when the content doesn't fit it

Frames enable us to manage sites easily. Suppose you want to update the header of your website ,if you designed it with just an html then You will have to update all of the pages on the site but Frames made that easy by just updating one page and You will not have to update the rest.

There are many alternatives to the frames. You can use PHP Includes to include the desired file to the desired location .

You can use this code to do so .

. Where the filename.php will be the file name which you want to include.
But The page which you are going to insert the code must be saved as yourpage.php and have .php file extension

Also You can use Extended Server Side Includes which is like the PHP by using the following code



But The page which you are going to insert the code must be saved as yourpage.shtml and have .shtml file extension.

So avoid using Frames on any part of your site.

7 Organize Your site files well : It is good to organize your site files well and divide them into categories for easy file management.

For example suppose you have a lot of products and then you can organize them as follows

products/product1/ or products/nameofproduct/

So the url of the product will be like http://yourcompanyname.com/products/product1 or http://yourcompanyname.com/products/nameofproduct/

In that way You can organize your web files easily .

8 Use Limited Colors only : Avoid using many colors on your site . Limit your colors to four or six .

9 Links : Your links should be descriptive . And should be readable . Also Use one color for all of your major links .

These were some tips which is necessary to use for designing an eye catching website.

After all We all want to design great sites .

Abdillahi Abdillahi is a web designer, founder and president of http://kooshin.com , a company providing affordable web hosting and web design solutions to small to medium sized businesses and individuals. For more information , please visit http://kooshin.com

Banner design guidelines / tips / ways

Banner advertising is by far the most popular and widespread form of advertising on the Internet. Banner design can increase CTRs (click through ratios) and resulting sales.

I hope these tips help you.

. Use bright colors like blue, yellow and green. Use the color red sparingly.

. Use the word Free in your banner. Depending on what's your site offering use word Free . It definetly improve your website's CTR.

. Include both the logo and the web site address in the banner. The logo should be made small and the URL can be displayed in a very small font size. This step help your website to make a brand

. Change your banners after 2 weeks - 3 weeks.

Make animation banners.

Animated banners generate higher CTRs than static banners. Animation must be used very carefully since the purpose of the animation is to attract visitors, not to irritate them. For animated banners, these general guidelines apply:

. Optimize an animated .gif banner by decreasing both the number of colors used and vertical color change, one can bring the file size below the required value.

. An animation that loops endlessly tends to irritate visitors. Have the animation loop 6-8 times and leave the main message on last animation frame.

. Either avoid the use of photos in animated gifs or keep the animation to a minimum, if photos are employed.

. Your main message need to come in your first frame if you know that the web page on which you are using animation has a long download time.

Flash Web Designing

Flash has come a long way since its inception. Flash technology has become more powerful now and its inherent potential to create more sophisticated web based applications is being appreciated by developers. Great e-learning tools have been coming up with small tutorials

Read more at Flash Web Designing

Copyright for web designers

For the inexperienced, developing sites and software can be a legal minefield. This issue Brian Miller, solicitor and partner in the new media firm Davenport Lyons, explains how to keep control of your copyright

Every lawyer’s favourite adage is ‘never assume’. It’s especially relevant for companies hoping to take part in the development of new sites. Each company may ‘assume’ that it will own the copyright of the final product, even though their contract makes no provision for it.

In the creative world of web design, it’s not uncommon for a client to commission a developer to build a web site, only for the relationship to collapse. If there is no contract (or even where there is and the contract isn’t specific), the client often believes that they will own the copyright of the work.

It has always been the case in common law (English case law) that, in the absence of prior agreement between the parties (it’s always best to get these things in writing), copyright remains in the hands of the author of the work, namely the developer or designer. This may come as a shock to many site owners, when they realise they don’t actually own the piece of software, or site design, for which they have often paid a substantial sum of money.

The Client

The precise nature of the rights that the client will acquire on purchasing a piece of software or a design will largely depend on the circumstances of the individual case. For instance, if it was made clear by the client that they would want to sell the software to third parties, although there was no express clause outlining this in any agreements, it’s more likely that the client will have not only a licence to use the software for the purposes for which it was commissioned, but also the right to licence it to third parties. In most cases, the law states that the client, in the absence of any specific agreement relating to copyright ownership, will generally have a licence for the software based on the following criteria:

A non-exclusive, personal, irrevocable and royalty-free licence to use the software
For the life of the copyright (ie, 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author (designer or coder) dies, or where the author is a company, from the end of the year in which the software was published)
No automatic right to sub-licence the software to third parties
A right to repair, maintain and upgrade the software in accordance with the requirements of the client’s business
It’s very rare for a court to award copyright ownership to a client (ie, not the creator of the work), in the absence of a prior agreement

between the parties. The only time this would arise would be if the client needed, in addition to the right to use the software, the right to exclude the developer from using it and the ability to enforce the copyright against third parties. An example of when this might arise is where the purpose in commissioning the work is for the client to make and sell copies in the marketplace the work was created for, free from competition by the developer or third parties.

The Developer

As mentioned earlier, the developer can re-use the code they created to build the software for the client, provided that all of the client’s confidential information has been removed. Given that, by implication, the developer retains copyright ownership of the software, they’ll be in a position to assign copyright of the software to the client for a further sum. Alternatively, the developer could license the software to a third party to redevelop it for a new client, provided there are no remnants of the client’s confidential information.

As we have demonstrated, it’s never advisable to enter into a contract for development of some software (which would include a web site) without there being something in writing, particularly in relation to copyright. When planning new projects it’s worth getting these matters set down in writing to esure that the rights of each party are clear and adequately protected. In the case of the commissioning party, that will mean that there are no surprises when it comes to claiming ownership, or indeed selling the software or web site to third parties.

Source : http://www.netmag.co.uk/zine/design-culture/copyright-for-web-designers

Logo Design Articles : Get Set Logo

A logo is an integral part of a company's corporate identity. A uniquely customized logo design can intensify your company's identity, and help you to acquire instant recognition. Logo designing is creating the main graphic heading of your web page; hence it is the visual centre of the entire page design.

Familiarity is the key to growing business. Logo design is a primary factor, since your company logo is the cornerstone of all your marketing and promotional materials. A personal logo increases the credibility of your business. In this fierce competitive business arena, your business needs to gain credibility in order to contend with your competitors.

An appealing logo catches the eye making the observer curious and engaged. The right logo can boost your visibility, credibility and memorability which denote more business. Logos are essentially for your project or business’s identity. Logos are influential to your business or project. Your single logo explains everything about your business. Logo is primarily an identification symbol, a symbol exclusively designed for your business.

Logos can be any image, text or any thing symbolic. Logos are largely divided into three broad categories. In this article you can find a brief introduction of logos and their designing intricacies.

Text Logo

Many companies prefer a text logo which uses tailored fonts. Text logos are the simplest form of logos. Many companies use company name as their logo, for example, Google, Microsoft, Ford etc. Text logos look simple and are easy to remember. These are the direct images of your company.


Symbol Logo

These logos use specific symbols to denote the company or organization. Symbol logos are solely designs which stand for your business. These logos should be carefully chosen because this one image means the whole business for you. Companies like apple computers, Nike, Addidas and organizations like UNICEF, UNO etc use symbol logos


Combination Logo

Logos which has a symbol along with text is categorized as a combination logo. These logos are easy to remember and decipher. Combination logos usually focus on the company's name and a symbol.
Logo designing involves meticulous brainstorming work. It is a representation of your business and company. You need an adept designer to get the most suitable logo for you. Here are few key facts which you should consider before designing your logo.

Uniform Format

Your single logo is used on brochures, promotional items as well as in your company website. Hence the logo should look uniform in all formats and sizes. The logo should be in a uniform format which allows the design to be resized to any size without any distortion.


Simplicity

Avoid ambiguous and complex designs for your logo. A simple logo enhances the beauty and the memorability of the logo. You need to put your logo on letterheads, envelops and other items, if the logo will be complex, people might not make out the design. Elaborated logos are difficult to print. Be natural and simple while deciding your logo. A well designed logo can be used with ease for all purposes.


Don't Be Color-Fool

Colors can enhance your design, but logo color should be chosen wisely. You should limit colors in your logo. This can not only make your logo look sober but also limits your printing costs.

Source :http://www.e2solutions.net/articles/articles-logo-design.html

Optimal Website Design

The idea to good website design is to offer your viewer a logical flow while making it interesting and easy to understand. Lead your viewers to the starting point and then direct them through your site without confusing them.

Here are some excellent tips that can help you develop a user-friendly site and please your visitors senses. Give yourself a chance before they get away.

1. Use lots of white space.

Don't feel that because you have a whole screen that you need to fill it up with stuff. Your page should follow a clean outline. Include your site name at the very top. Below that list the subject of your page and below that expand on your topic. Leave adequate space between each section. Don't cram a lot of pictures and ads. If you have an ad keep it off to the side or subtly intersperse it between your text. The idea is not to overwhelm your reader.

2. Don't use animation and flashing objects.

As advertisers we feel the need to get our viewers attention. This is important but we need to do it gracefully. Flashing objects and scrolling images distract your visitor and take away from the content. If your product is better demonstrated with animation or some other multi-media, allow your viewer to select the option. Don't force it on them.

3. Every page of your site should contain an 'about' link.

The Internet can be a rather cold and quiet environment. If someone can come to your site and find out about who you are and what you are about, they can feel a little better about doing business with you or taking advice from you. Always include your business address and phone number and email address as well. This lets viewers know that you are serious about your business and that you welcome contact.

4. Include a 'Privacy' Link

Viewers like the reassurance that you have a policy that follows privacy guidelines. They want to know that you will not sell or give away their information. In these days of rampant spam, your privacy policy needs to be prominently displayed. Many viewers and business partners won't do business with you unless you have it.

5. Always keep your links in blue.

Why does that matter you might say? It's an expectation that viewers have along with the links being underlined. There's certainly no law that says they need to be as such but people spend a lot of time on the Internet and it's good practice to keep your navigation consistent and recognizable. If it's not, you may lose out on clicks.

6. Keep navigation consistent

Keep your site's navigation consistent. What you do on your index page should be done the same way on the rest of your site's pages. Keep the colors consistent as well. Don't force your viewers to relearn each page of your site. Keep your navigation bars and links the same for each page.

7. Understandable buttons and links.

Title your links appropriately. Don't use cute or misleading names. For example, if you have a link to sports equipment don't label the link 'Great Outdoors', call it 'sports equipment'. If you have a link to 'cameras' don't label the link 'hotshots', label it 'cameras'. Your viewers don't want to waste time figuring out what things are. Be clear with your labeling.

8. Focus on the 'YOU', not the 'ME'.

Make it obviously clear to your readers that you are there for them. What can you do for your reader? What benefits are there for your viewer? How can you make their life or business better or more profitable? Request feedback on their success. Find out what they want to know or how you can offer them what they need.

9. Make sure your page loads fast.

If viewers have to wait for a page to load they will click elsewhere. Here's a site that will help you determine how well your page loads. If a page doesn't load in 8 seconds you lose 1/3 of your visitors. Here's a great free tool to help you check your website's load time.

10. Use a site map.

A site map will give visitors a "guide" on viewing your site and also eliminate confusion, especially with larger sites. It's a road map for your visitors to follow while they are on your site. Sitemaps will also increase rankings and placement within the Search Engines.


Source : http://www.theukwebdesigncompany.com/articles/article.php?article=1426

Attractive Website : A Creative Approach

Internet provides remarkable tools to enhance the design of your website. With just little effort you can turn your website a masterpiece with visuals applets and special effects. You can put numerous templates and effects in your website. Adornments can make your website more appealing and desired by your visitors. Good website designs allure visitors to at least visit through the whole site.
Following are few guidelines which can help you make your website more appealing and professional.

Allure with Graphics or Photos

Human beings are visual creatures. Visuals appeal them the most. Try to use images and graphics in your website. Your potential visitor might not be that free to read your content but if you can attract them by images then you can convey your important message clearly. Capture your visitor's attention and let them recall your site to visit again and again. Graphics with moving images can make your visitor curious to visit your website. You choose from several applets and special effects as per your website's requirements.

Be credible with professional color scheme

Your website represents your company's image. Hence your every approach should be professional and lucid. Once you decide all your graphics for your website, pay attention to the color scheme for your website. Though it looks an easy task but the choice of right colors involves a lot of research and color knowledge. You can get several online color schemers for quite less expensive charges. But the scheme should be interesting and eye catching.


Use Graphical Signposts

Make your website content more attractive with signposts. Use bullets and numbering to make your content more crisp and lucid. Your visitor might not read every sentence of your content but can read the bulleted points easily. Users can easily absorb bullet information where they don't need to pay all their concentration on the content. Visit websites and make points about your liking and disliking in that website. Be your own critic and judge as a visitor. You can find several ways to make your website look captivating.
The above stated points can enhance the credibility and beauty of your website. But, do remember few points which you should strictly avoid while designing your website.

Avoid over makeup

Visual effects can be pleasing but it can be diluted when you use several images in a single page. You should find the right balance between images, as too many images distract the visitor as much as no image in your site does.


Flash Bash

Flash is the most ubiquitous graphic tool. It should be used to enhance the images and text in the website. Over use of Flash makes your website look less professional. Try to be meager while using Flash and other animation tools.


Be simple but avoid being too bland

Numerous sites are uploaded everyday. You must stand out in order to be noticed in this astounding web fraternity. Be creative and easily accessible. Use graphics that reflects your purpose and offerings. This will help you become more desirable and attractive to clients.

Source :

http://www.e2solutions.net/articles/attractive-web-designing.html

12 Website Design Decisions Your Business or Organization Will Need to Make

You may be on your first website. But more likely you're faced with redesigning a website that isn't functioning as well as it should. I see 12 vital decisions involved with developing a website, and I want to explain them with you in mind:

.You're the owner or marketing director of a small business and know that getting your website to pull its share of the load is vital for success. But your budget is severely limited!

.You've just been assigned the task of redoing your company's website.
Congratulations, now you can be blamed if things don't work well. :-)

.You've volunteered to take on your church or organization website and make some sense out of it -- without offending the person who built it in the first place.

.This time around you've decided to outsource the job, but you have no idea of how to supervise a design company to make sure it does what you need. Good luck!

I want to help. When I built my first website in 1995 at the very beginning of the commercial Web, I didn't have a clue how to proceed. In those days there was no one to guide me. I've made every mistake you can think of -- some more than once, I hate to admit.

Since then I've built and assisted with dozens of online stores and hundreds of websites for all kinds of businesses and organizations, from mom and pops to major corporations and international organizations. I don't design websites for others these days, but I actively develop and maintain my own site.

There are twelve critical places in building a website where you must make the right decision, or you'll have to repeat this task again and again until you get it right. I won't be talking about how to write HTML; I want to help you with the mindset, the basic approach. I want to take you by the hand and lead you through the critical decisions. The better you grasp these essential points, the better your website will work and the happier camper you'll be.

Okay, let's roll up our sleeves and get started. By the way, why don't you print out this document and then mark it up with your thoughts and ideas as you read. It's designed to serve as a worksheet to clarify your thinking and provide direction at various stages of the project. If you decide to outsource the project, you'll want to share a copy of your marked-up copy of this document with your website designer. Print it out!

1. Determine Your Website's Chief Purpose

When you begin a website, you must have your main purpose clearly in mind. I say this because it's easy to have conflicting purposes.

. If you're a website design firm, you may want to show off your high tech goodies with your client's site as the showpiece.

. If you're an employee stuck with this task, you may want to look good for your bosses and not do anything for which you can be blamed -- you've got to protect your backside.

. If you're a volunteer, you may just want an excuse to tinker and be praised for it.

. If you're a business owner, you probably care about the bottom line. You're wondering, How much this will cost? and Will it be worth it in the long run ?

Dear friends, recognize your own needs -- they're legitimate. But to build an effective website, you've got to look at the business's or organization's needs and make those primary. From the organization's perspective, what must this website do in order to be successful?

Let's look at some common website purposes. Put an X next to all that apply

. Build your brand. Create an online brochure that will help potential clients, customers, and partners learn about your company and look at it in a favorable light. You're trying to enhance your brand or organization image. I've heard people disparage this kind of website as "brochure-ware." But this is very legitimate for some kinds of companies, especially local businesses or organizations that aren't trying to conduct national or international commerce. You want people to know who you are, what you do, where to find you, and how to contact you.

. Provide product information to drive local sales of your products and services at dealer locations. Auto sites are a good example. Many manufacturers don't sell on their sites, but point people to retailers who carry their products.

.Sell advertising. A few sites are designed to sell advertising -- Yahoo!, Google, and other portal sites are examples. But these days, there's far too much advertising space and not nearly enough money to fill it all. Internet advertising is improving, but is still under-priced. You may be able to sell a little advertising if you're a portal site for an industry, or perhaps put some Google AdSense ads on your site. But these aren't big money-makers. Look at advertising sales as a hopeful bonus, not as a sure thing.

. Sell products or services directly over the Internet. You want to conduct e-commerce and sell to a national or international market. You'll have some kind of ordering system for one or more products, or perhaps an extensive online catalog. You may offer an online service that can be delivered over the Internet or that can be initiated online.

.Earn affiliate commissions for sales and leads generated through links on your website. Savvy marketers are building microsites designed to generate search engine traffic for a particular hot product or service. When a visitor clicks on one of their links, he is referred to an e-commerce site, and, if a sale results, the affiliate gets a commission. Perhaps a form on your site generates leads or subscriptions for another company.

. Provide customer service and support. Websites are a great place for troubleshooting guides, FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions), technical information, etc. You can generate Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) labels. You can provide multiple ways for your customers to contact you (see under Point #9 below).

. Save money by means of online efficiencies. Companies have used the Internet to save billions of dollars. Taking orders online with real-time credit card authorization saves paying call center operators and cuts entry errors. Online catalogs save lots in paper, printing, and distribution costs. Online FAQs and knowledge bases cut the number of customer service personnel you need. And I'm just scratching the surface here.

What's the design decision here ? To be clear and focused about your site's objectives and purposes.

by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, E-Commerce Consultant
Web Marketing Today

Simple Design Tips for Non-Designers

Web design is an interestingly unique skill. Due to its infancy, it is a career in which many professionals have very little formal training. Designers may not have training in programming and programmers rarely have training in design. As much as I understand and appreciate design, I'm more of a programmer at heart. My design skills aren't very impressive. I've picked up a few little tricks over the past few months that I thought others more inclined to programming may find useful.

I've prepared the following quick list of tips that I've found useful in improving my design skills and appreciation of design. In some cases, I'm very aware that there are industry standard terms, but the point of this isn't to teach a full course on typography or color theory, but rather to provide some simple tips that can be used as a starting point for improving some basic design skills.

Don't Underestimate the Power of Typography

Experiment with different line-heights, letter-spacing, and word-spacing with your headlines and body text. Try using all uppercase in some situations. You may not realize it at first, but those kind of changes play a huge role in your visual design as well as readability. I'm not just talking about headlines either. Experiment with your body text fonts and spacing. You'll be amazed at the improvements. If you'd like to learn more, I strongly suggest the more detailed explanation of typography by Mark Boulton and Cameron Moll's advice on typeface selection.

Discover & Understand Your Unique Style

All too often, new designers look at other designer's for inspiration. This can definitely be useful, but is much more useful after you understand your own style. Embrace the way you design and what works for you before you try to draw inspiration from someone else's style.

When designing for clients, you always want to put their design needs before your style. However, it's alright for that design to have hints of your style. It's what makes your designs unique. Focus on their business needs first and determine what is appropriate. If you know yourself, you'll be able to use your own style better as a result.

Start Simple

If you want to really polish your design skills, try designing for a little while without extra graphics or photos. This forces you to have a better understanding of how the more subtle design elements work together to achieve their own state of zen. If there's no graphics, all you can worry about is typography, color, and layout. If that's all you've got to work with, you better bet you'll learn to understand your choices on a slightly deeper level.

Use a Variety of Colors

Finding the right colors can be difficult as well. Once you find them though, they can help a design fall right into place. Many new designers have a hard time using the right amount of colors. I've found the sweet spot to be around 4-5 colors not including black or white. They don't have to be completely unique colors, but you should at least try using different shades of a color. For example, Jon Hicks has always done this exceedingly well with different greens. If you need help picking out a color palette, find a photo you like and pixelate it. Using different colors helps add another layer of variety and interest.

Content is King

Trying to design without content is like trying to drive a car without fuel. You can't get anywhere. Pieces of content are your design. Whether it's body text, headlines, dates, photos, or graphics, if you don't have content to drive the design, you're going to have a rough time. I always start off with more content elements than I need and then start cutting them as I realize they aren't needed.

Start Big

Start out with your big elements first. Figure out a high level layout that makes sense for your content. Then once you have the page laid out, you can pick one piece of content at a time and figure out the details. Try designing just that one piece without any regard for the surrounding elements. This lets you focus and not get distracted by trying to do too much at once. Besides, you can always integrate all the pieces back together in the end. Also, when working on layouts, make sure you are very aware of how the reader's eye will move across the page. There should be one emphasis, with other parts that smoothly and seamlessly guide the eye across your design.

Worry About Details at the End

If you start designing your graphic bullets before you've even chosen a logical page layout or color scheme, you're getting ahead of yourself. Of course, you may find that the layout or color scheme need to change later, but that's alright. Just keep moving forward. Iron out the details after you've taken care of the big stuff.

Rapid Fire Design / Keep it Moving

If you sit there designing for hours and are never happy, that's just how it goes. You'll always be your toughest critic, and the longer you look at your work, the less you're going to like it. In these situations, I'll timebox myself. I give myself 10 minutes and force myself to work as fast possible to create a basic design. Then I repeat it a few more times until I have several to compare. During this process, I don't undo anything, I just keep it going and force myself to make happy mistakes. Don't let yourself get hung up on pixels or details, just make some sort of forward progress.

Summary

These are by no means meant to be a deeply professional and highly profound series of rules. I chose not to try to explain kerning, leading, gutters, or any of that. I just wanted to throw out some basic tips that have helped me improve my design chops or break out of irritating ruts.

Author : Garrett

Web Design Tips And Techniques For Site Usability

If you are a web designer or a webmaster, website design is one of the most important tasks you do. In designing a site, you need to create a design that is easy for users to use, is compatible with different systems, and is search engine friendly.

Making a site that is user friendly:

In some ways, creating a user friendly site is just common sense - other aspects are not so obvious, though. Obviously, you'll want to make the text easy to read, the navigation links easy to find, etc. Here are a few other tips: Put contact information on every page. Make it obvious what you want the user to do after reading a page.. Make it easy for the user to reach your homepage from any other page

Making a site that is cross-platform compatible:

The main factors you need to consider in platform compatibility are the user's browser, screen resolution, color depth, and plug ins.

Browser compatibility is easy - just test your site in various browsers, and fix any incompatibilities. The same for screen resolution - just be sure that you site looks good and is easily navigated with any common screen resolution. Color depth is also relatively simple. Just restrict your design to using web safe colors.

Plug-ins can be a little more complicated. If at all possible, try to use media that is compatible with most versions of a plug in. For example, try not to use a flash movie that requires the latest version of a flash player.

Making a site that is search engine friendly:

The biggest thing you can do to make your site friendly to the search engines is to give it a good link structure. Be sure that each page on your site is linked to from at least two other pages with a plain text link. Image links are OK, but not as good as optimized text links. Javascript and flash links are very bad for search engine usability.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gabriel_J._Adams