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Basics of Professional Web Design

Graphics

1. Think small, like 10-12KB per image. Yes, depending on the source, the number of broadband users is going up. But slow pages are still really annoying, even if you're on a T1. And huge images are a primary cause of slow pages. It's easy to optimize your images.
   
2. Always use graphics that fit the content. Just because you have an adorable photo of your dog doesn't mean you should have it on your Web site about Singapore Web Design (sorry, Shasta...). The main exception I would make to this is for "design" images. These are photos or graphics that help make up the design of the page, and are not intended to illustrate the content.
   
3. Do not use images that blink or move or change or rotate or flash or do anything on your page. Or use them sparingly. There have been many studies that show that flashing graphics are distracting and annoying to people. In fact, in one focus group I watched the browsers actually physically cover up flashing graphics so that they could read the rest of the page.
   

Layout

1. Stick with standard layouts. I've seen some pages that use 6 or 8 frames on one page. Another site used a layout where you had to scroll to the right to read everything on the page (but you never had to scroll down). These layouts are cute, and you might find them fun to build, but they will drive your readers nuts. The reason that the 3-column layout is so popular on Web sites and newspapers is because it works. You might think it's boring, but you'll keep more readers if you stick with something simple that they can understand.
   
2. Whitespace is more than the CSS property, it is a function of your layout. You should be aware of the whitespace on your pages and how it affects how the content is viewed. Whitespace is just as important in a Professional Web Design as it is in a paper layout.
   
3. Use your graphics as elements in your layouts. Graphics can be more than just graphics when you use them as actual elements in your layouts. An extreme example is when you wrap text around an image, but any image you have on your site is a layout element and should be treated as such.

Fonts

1. Serif for headlines and Sans-Serif for text. If you've taken any type of print design, this might be exactly the opposite of what you were taught. But the Web is not print. Sans-serif fonts are much easier to read on computer monitors because the screen resolution is not as high as in print. If you use serif fonts for normal text, the serifs can blur together on the screen making them hard to read. Your printer friendly page should use the opposite fonts (serif for headlines and sans-serif for text).
   
2. Limit the number of different fonts. One of the best ways to make your Web site look amateurish is to change the font over and over. Sure, it's possible to do, but limiting your page and site to 2 or possibly 3 standard font families is easier to read and looks more professional.
   
3. Use standard font families. Yes, you can choose to use "Rockwood LT Standard" as your font on your page, but the chances that one of your readers will have that font as well is pretty low. Sticking with fonts like Verdana, Geneva, Arial, and Helvetica may seem boring, but your pages will look better and the designs look correct on more browsers.

Advertising

1. Don't be greedy. If you have any control over the number of ads on your site, be aware that your readers are not coming to read the ads, they are coming for the content. If the ads overwhelm the page content, many readers won't stick around long enough to read your purple prose. Yes, it's important to make money in Singapore from your Web site, but if your ads drive people away, you'll ultimately lose money.
   
2. Treat ads as you would any other image. Keep them small, avoid blinking/flashing, and keep them relevant. Just because you can have an ad on your site, doesn't mean that you should. If the content is relevant to your readers, they're more likely to click on the ad.
   Remember Your Readers
   
3. Test your pages in multiple browsers. Writing Web pages that work only on the most modern browser is both stupid and annoying. Unless you are writing a Web site for a corporate intranet or a kiosk where the browser version is completely fixed, you'll have problems with people not being able to view your pages.
   
4. The same is true for operating systems. You can't assume that just because your page works in IE5.0 for Windows it will work in IE5.0 for Macintosh.
   
5. Write content that they want. Unless you're writing a site purely for yourself (and if you are, why is it posted to the Web?), make sure that your content covers topics that your readers want to read.

How to Choose Professional Website Design Color Scheme?

Today, I would like to provide you a good guideline in choosing a Professional Color Scheme for your website.

Of course, before that, make sure when you engage a eSingapore web development company, they have Professional Graphic Designer to work on your ecompany web design. And make sure that they are NOT using Template.
Because a good Graphic Designer can make a big difference in your Website Professionalism.

These are the guidelines for you to decide your Color Scheme:

**********************************
1. Serious Corporate Feel? Or Classy Look?
**********************************
If you want to have a Serious Business or Corporate Feel, you can use Blue or Grey color.
( recommended to Corporate which provides services/consultancy)

If you want to have a Classy Look & Feel, use Dark Grey, Black, Gold, Red.
( recommended for Design Studio website, Photographer Website, Premium Real Estate Website, High Priced Product Website)


*********************************
2. Complement Existing Corporate Logo
*********************************
If you already have a Corporate Logo, the website color must complement corporate logo.
(Unless you want to Redesign your Logo)


**************************
3. Corporate Color Scheme
**************************
If your company has already an existing Corporate Color Scheme used in Branding & Marketing materials, you can use the Corporate Color Scheme as your website color scheme. Many of our clients from Multinational Company do have existing Corporate Color Scheme & they would use it as Website Color Scheme also

How to Choose Professional Website Color Scheme?

Today, I would like to provide you a good guideline in choosing a Professional Color Scheme for your website.

Of course, before that, make sure when you engage a web development company, they have Graphic Designer to work on your web design. And make sure that they are NOT using Template.

Because a good Graphic Designer can make a big difference in your Website Professionalism.

These are the guidelines for you to decide your Color Scheme:


Serious Corporate Feel? Or Classy Look?
If you want to have a Serious Business or Corporate Feel, you can use Blue or Grey color.
( recommended to Corporate which provides services/consultancy)

If you want to have a Classy Look & Feel, use Dark Grey, Black, Gold, Red.
( recommended for Design Studio website, Photographer Website, Premium Real Estate Website, High Priced Product Website)

Complement Existing Corporate Logo
If you already have a Corporate Logo, the website color must complement corporate logo.
(Unless you want to Redesign your Logo)

Corporate Color Scheme
If your company has already an existing Corporate Color Scheme used in Branding & Marketing materials, you can use the Corporate Color Scheme as your website color scheme. Many of our clients from Multinational Company do have existing Corporate Color Scheme & they would use it as Website Color Scheme also

Price isnt everything

It is very tempting to automatically exclude anyone who won't work for peanuts. But if you do that, you're not going to have a good looking site. You should come up with a price you think is reasonable, but if every designer quotes you something much higher than that, you probably are expecting too much for too little. On the other hand, it doesn't help to just go with the most expensive quote. Just because someone quotes you a rate that's extremely high doesn't mean that you will get an extremely good site. The law of diminishing returns applies. Some rules of thumb for pricing:

• Free means you'll get a very bad site or very very little. At best you'll get a good site, and then when you ask them to make one change they'll never answer your calls.
• Volunteering and barter is different than free. If you run a non-profit, you might be able to find a Web designer to volunteer time for your website. But don't expect it.
• An estimate of $5-10 per page is extremely cheap. You should expect to pay around $25-50 per page for a standard HTML/CSS website. More if there is a lot of programming, content writing, or graphics creation involved.
• An estimate of $500 or more per page is extermely expensive for a straight HTML/CSS website. If you get an estimate in that range from a designer you otherwise like, explore with them why they are charging so much. You may find that you're asking for programming even though you didn't know it.
• Don't be surprised if the designer asks for some money up-front. This is good faith money that you will pay them. It also allows them to pay for things like rent and food while they're working on your site. But Take Note: if they ask for more than 50% of the total fee up-front, be very wary. You need to know that they will do the work and not just take the money and run.

Ask for a Contract
If the designer you're considering doesn't usually use a contract, then find another designer. Contracts are protection for both parties, and you both are at risk if you don't have a contract. It should include:

• Dates, times, and deadlines for the project
• The total estimated cost, payment due dates, and how work done over the estimate will be handled
• Boilerplate language for how the contract would be adjudicated
• Take Note: your designer should be willing to work out the contract with you. If they have a standard contract that they are not willing to modify for any reason, then you should consider someone more reasonable.
  

Can You Contact Them?
A good designer will work with you to get your business. That should include things like a free consultation, discussion of how the project should go and status reports as it's going along. Plus, you should have a phone number and mailing address for the designer in case you need to contact them during the project.

Don't Forget to Ask for References
Ask for references of people who they have done similar jobs for in the past. And then call the references. Ask questions like:

Are you satisfied with the work you had done?
Was the work done on time?
Was the work done on or under budget?
Was it easy to work with this designer?
Would you hire them again? Why or why not?

Do You Like Them?
Finally, you shouldn't hire someone that you don't like or don't think you can get along with. You'll need to work with this person, and if you don't like them or their manner is offputting, you won't get the best website you can get. Even if their price is perfect and everything else seems great, if you don't like them, it won't work out.

Why Joomla Web Designing is a Better Option?

Joomla CMS is the latest rage in website designing. It is getting popularity due to its easy accessibility and dynamic features.

Hurray! I just completed creating a new website and that too ALL By my Own. Well thats the kind of freedom Joomla web designing has provided you. Your website will look and feel exactly the way you like it. You need not worry about designers fussing over your ideas, or the exuberant cost that you have to pay for good website designing.

Joomla Web Designing is a the easiest way so for being introduced for CMS (Content Mangement system of a website). For those who are still unaware of what Joomla exactly is, let me tell you, that Joomla is an open source content management system, that is used to build a website and used henceforth, for any editing that the website might require.

Small and Medium sized businesses that develop a medium sized website, are really really fond of this easy to use web designing technique. It is most suitable for those websites, that have a lot of content in their site, which needs regular changing and editing. Corporate websites, institutions, portals, and several others have used Joomla we designing successfully and have also declared it as the best web designing tool so far.

The reason why Joomla has been recognized with the best tool award is that it has an active community working for it and supporting it continuously. There are many plug-ins and extensions that come along with the Joomla package, to expand the functionalities of this CMS system. With Joomla you can make a simple 3-4 page website (the way I did for an experiment) or you can also create a forum or a blog from it. Manage client contacts, online library of documents, podcasts, calendars, gallery, booking system or videos.

The best part of Joomla web designing is that it also provides different levels of user access. This will help you keep track of your website management. Different rights can be given to different users to edit or change certain sections. All of this combined together make Joomla one of the best CMS tool introduced so far.

I must thank the brilliant minds behind it.

Does Your Business Need a Website?

These days, 80% of businesses in the UK have a website. These vary enormously in functionality and quality and many companies seemed to have made the decision to have a website without making any effort to think about their customer needs or how they are presenting themselves to the world. Many businesses believe that they need to have a website, but never seem to have the time or resources to put one in place.

So how do you know if your business would benefit from having its own website?
Start with Some ResearchWhen you’re thinking about giving your business an online presence, start by looking at competitor website and deciding what you like and dislike about their website. Do you like the way they have phrased things? Do they strike you as honest and reliable? Do they come across as knowledgeable and experienced?

Most importantly, what is it about their website that would persuade you to buy from them or spend your money elsewhere?

Put your Customers First
Firstly, think about your customers, what kind of website will work best?

This will depend on a number of factors including your business type and the type of customers you’re looking for.

Broadly, business websites can be broken down into three main types:

Information only – this just tells you about the products and services the company provides. This is commonly used by service businesses, such as consultancies where a degree of contact and interaction with the client is required before jobs can be costed out.

Online shops – not only provides information about the company and its products, but also allows direct purchases from the website. This is used by those with products to sell which people are happy to buy sight unseen.

Community – these websites try and build a sense of community amongst the customer base, perhaps by allowing product reviews, featuring a blog, carrying forums or news streams. Sites which combine community features like user-generated product reviews can enjoy an increase in sales of up to 20% according to some Internet marketers, although they take more effort to maintain.

Common Mistakes
When setting up or improving your website, there are some common mistakes that can easily ruin your chances of gaining customers. These include:

Not thinking through how your customers will want to interact with your website. If you have products that you show online, it’s best to allow people to make purchases too. Keep in mind that many people shop online during lunch hours and work breaks and you may be losing sales if you expect people to make purchases in person or by phone.

Building a website that you can’t update yourself. The chances are that you will want to update the material on your website frequently, so it’s important that you have a website designed that allows you to do this without allowing you to wreck the site.

Not using a professional writer or web designer. Specialist copywriters and web designers are often available on a freelance basis and can make a huge difference to the look and feel of your website for the sake of a few hundred pounds. You wouldn’t let your twelve year old cousin run your business, so why let him design your website. He may mean well, but it’s your business reputation at stake.

Source

Welcome to LaiAnderson Design

Welcome to LaiAnderson Design blog. I am a Freelance Web and Graphic Designer from Singapore. I provide solutions including web design, cms development, ecommence stall, joomla development.

I hope this hope can provide everyone some interesting news and articles related to web design.