Internet Marketing Blog » improve web design

Should Navigation Be Vertical Or Horizontal?

James — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 08:00:46 +0000

Over recent years web design trends have shown a greater use of horizontally arranged navigation menus. Often these will stand alone, although sometimes they are used in conjunction with vertical menus, typically placed down the left-hand side of the page and containing subcategories. While the vertical style of menu is certainly the more traditional form of navigation, with the advantage that visitors will instantly recognise what it represents merely by its position on the page, there are benefits offered by the horizontal navigation alternative which should not be overlooked.

One advantage of styling navigation horizontally across the screen is that more of the page can be used for content, with a greater available width than is possible when a vertical menu occupies space on the left. Another useful aspect of links being arranged sideways is that each one can be expanded in the form of a dropdown sub-menu. This is visually cleaner and easier to use than the sub-menus which fly out to the side of many vertical navigation lists, and which can sometimes prove extremely fiddly to handle.

The content of a website ought to dictate the style of menu used, and for some sites, web development issues will mean choosing one style over another. For example, with a vertical menu it is easier to add and remove links than it is with a horizontal navigation bar, where the width of the page limits changes.

Here at internet marketing agency Click Consult, we use horizontal or vertical navigation menus according to each website’s requirements.

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Is The Best Web Design Always Simple?

Richard — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:24:55 +0000

Usually, it is wise to follow the generally accepted advice that a website’s design should be kept as simple and straightforward as possible, in order to allow visitors to use it more easily and for it to have benefit for your internet marketing strategy. There is also a sense that minimal, clean designs appear more elegant and upmarket than cluttered pages heaving with showy decoration. However, there are always exceptions to rules and in certain cases a business or organisation may require a complicated web design, allowing a large number of items to be displayed on each page.

One example of a website, which is hugely successful and yet has many elements struggling for space on its pages, is that of the company Amazon. Now that the business is so well-established, it would be a mistake for any designer to tinker with the site’s design too much, as visitors are extremely familiar with how it works. Any changes could cause confusion and upset for returning customers expecting the website to behave in a certain way and to look roughly the same as the last time they used it.

There are other examples of websites, such as those run by hospitals or government departments, which have to supply information to lots of users at different levels. It would be impossible to create a minimal site that meets all these needs, so the goal is to make using the site as simple as possible through careful and thorough organisation.

At web marketing agency Click Consult we have the experience to create the right kind of web design for your needs.

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Be Prepared To Feed The Need

Gareth — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 08:02:02 +0000

On the whole, RSS XML feeds tend to lean toward breaking news and the distribution of vital information, but there is also huge potential for these feeds to meet marketing needs as well by, amongst other things, helping to snowball press releases and online newsletters, whilst staying fresh and interesting for shopping and consumer updates. Using RSS XML feeds on your website for document listings can also be dynamic for any target audience in that it decreases the need to keep continually checking back for updates.

Feeds enable valuable information to be shared on the simple things too, like relevant holidays or calendar events that might have an impact on business, and can enable both product and service providers to stay ahead of any potential problems or delays that can be a natural part of doing business. Feeds easily allow for an up to the minute flow of current threads and content on what is happening in related blogs and forums.

RSS XML feeds have been demonstrated to cultivate an active and dedicated following of subscribers so it then becomes vitally important to keep them interested by featuring regular updates either hourly, weekly or on whatever timescale is necessary to quite literally feed the need.

As part of our web design strategies here at Click Consult we believe that these feeds are certainly a vital part of any marketing campaign and should be taken seriously as a widely available marketing tool, because incorporating RSS XML into web development provides an immediate relevancy to doing business online that can easily boost website traffic.

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Incorporating Social Networking Into Your Web Design

Gareth — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 08:02:12 +0000

One of the most powerful forms of Internet marketing these days is social networking. With social networking, your website and your website’s content can ‘go viral’ online and be seen by hundreds of thousands of people in the matter of a few hours. This level of coverage is invaluable and of course impossible to buy, therefore you need to make sure that your website is set up to cater for it from the initial web design stage right through to the web development.

In order to make the most of social networking you should have Facebook, Twitter and other social networking websites included in your web design. You should have links to your official Twitter page for your website and to a Facebook Fan Page. You should also allow visitors to your website to share content with their friends online on the social networking and social bookmarking websites of their choice. This can be done through special icons that accompany your content.

All of this should be factored into your original web design and it is something that we at Click Consult understand. We know that social networking and social bookmarking are very powerful, vital forms of Internet marketing and that our clients’ websites need to harness their powers in order to be successful. That’s why our web design experts consider aspects such as social networking websites before we begin any design process.

If your website hasn’t harnessed the power of social networking, perhaps you should speak to someone who understands its power. Contact Click Consult today.

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Save Time And Money By Future-Proofing Your Website

Gareth — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:03:42 +0000

Web designers have to contend with a lot of problems when they come to design a website for a client. They have the client’s considerations, objectives and aspirations to work with, and then they have the limitations of different browsers, operating systems and user levels to consider.

Getting the right balance between aesthetics and usability with a web design is a difficult process.

Another thing that web designers and web developers need to contend with is making sure that the website is future-proof. ‘Future proofing’ means that the web design is able to easily contend with additions, alterations and new sections without a complete redesign being required.

For example, if you run an eCommerce website and you sell video games, how would your web design cope with the launch of a new platform? You would need a new section on your website, a new tab, a new section in the admin panel and a new way of classifying products for the new console. You would also need your search facility to change, and your navigation to be updated.

If this is the sort of thing that would take your web developer and web designer weeks to implement then your website is not future proof. If, however, you can easily add the new sections yourself without any problems, you have a future-proof website.

At Click Consult we ensure that all of our clients’ websites are built with growth and progression in mind so that our clients can easily expand their websites without having to endure a redesign process.

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Some Important Things To Consider For An eCommerce Website

Gareth — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:04:12 +0000

When you’re designing an eCommerce website that needs to sell products to customers there are some very important considerations. While you want your website to stand out and be different, you don’t want your website to be ‘too’ different that it becomes difficult for your customers to use and buy products from. You want your customers to find your website easy to use, therefore you need to adhere to certain conventions of eCommerce design.

For example, you should always work on the theory that your users will read from left to right. This means that you should feature your product images on the left, and the description and price information on the right. Visitors to your website will see the image and then read across to the description and the price.

You also need to make sure that your visitors can browse your website comfortably before they purchase their products. To do this, you should always feature dark text on a light background. Research shows that users can read dark text on a light background far easier and for longer than they can read light text on a dark background.

This is why most retail sites feature black text and a white background.

Another important consideration is the location of your website’s logo. You will notice from looking at successful retail websites such as Amazon that the website logo is on the top left of the page and it links back to the homepage. This is because the user expects to find it here, so placing it anywhere else would just confuse your customers.

At Click Consult we know what makes a successful eCommerce website and are experienced at developing efficient and user friendly websites for our clients.

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Images: The modern draw card

Gareth — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:03:37 +0000

Those in advertising and marketing who have studied their vocations tirelessly will tell you that the modern day society is one based on its perceptions of images. Whether it is film, television, the internet or any other form of electronic media, they all have one thing in common: Images.

Quality conveys professionalism

As technology improves, so too does the quality of graphics. Our team of web designers will keep you abreast of developments, and in so doing, assist you in choosing the perfect graphics for web design.

As experts in our field we know it’s important to you to have your customer feeling inspired by what they see on your site. Seeing is believing, and by following the same style consistently throughout your website we’ll help you convince your customers you’re trustworthy. One can link the importance of picking the right graphics for web design with the appearance of your staff.

If they look professional, they’re more likely to get business. So in effect, looking good has never been more important to your company. Appearance is everything and first impressions do count.

So the emphasis is on you to carefully consider what images you want represented on your site and just how you want your brand to be developed, for now as well as in the future. Furthermore, by giving you easy to use software, we’ll give you the chance to change your images on a daily basis at will. At face value, choosing great graphics for web design seems like a wise decision, doesn’t it?

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Harmonising colours in your web design

Richard — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 08:00:29 +0000

Colour is a huge factor in your web design. Choosing the right colours to attract and keep the attention of your chosen target market is vital to the success of your website’s design. In order to choose the right colours, it takes research into trends and your target audience.

In order to make your colours gel together takes knowledge of colour theory. Knowing colour theory inside and out will help you choose colours that create harmony together. Harmony is preferred above discord as it keeps your visitors happy and can help to turn them into customers.

Happy harmonising

When you are looking at colours for your website you will, undoubtedly, familiarise yourself with the colour wheel. Once you know the colour wheel, you can look at colour combinations that work. Analogous colours are those that are buddies on the wheel, they sit right next to each other and make sweet harmony together. Complementary colours are positioned directly opposite each other on the colour wheel and they make each other stand out more.

These colours contrast with each other and create brighter and more vivid combinations than analogous colours do. You can also use the colours that form a colour triad. You do this by placing an equilateral triangle on the colour wheel. These colours will add some energetic life to your colour scheme. If you are still hard up for a solution to the colour side of your web design then look to nature. The colours found here are generally easy on the eyes and harmonious, even if they don’t conform to the theory of colour as humans have defined it.

Obviously, colour and smart design can capture attention but unless your website offers users what they are looking for then they won't hang around for long or return another time – so make sure that you have the website content to back up your design.

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Poor web design damages your business

Richard — Wed, 27 May 2009 08:11:53 +0000

Your business reputation is your biggest asset when it comes to attracting new business. In order to keep your current customers happy and attract new ones you need to makes sure that the reputation of your business and your website stays pristine. If not you could face heavy profit losses and severe damages to your image. Marketing on the internet is a fickle thing and your web design plays a huge part in getting people to notice your business and what you can offer them.

Web design woes

Poor web design can scare your current customer away and keep them from revisiting your web site. More damagingly poor web design can put potential customers off from exploring your website and maybe making use of your services or generating sales for your business. The damage does not stop there because your website has effects on potential customers that reach far beyond the internet.

The word of mouth still holds a great deal of sway in this age that lives for gossip and scandals so your web design bloopers may be more far reaching then you realise. The best option is to get a professional web design consultancy to handle your web design.

They have trained professionals on their books, experience and intimate knowledge of what internet users want from a website. With professional help in your corner you will save money on costly damage control and not only keep existing customers coming back for more, but you will be able to pull in new ones on a daily basis.

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