1. Focus on the user.

Those following this thread of articles will notice that this was also the first point on Google’s general philosophies, and this leads me to the obvious conclusion that is of great importance. When creating websites it can be easy to overindulge in technical design features such as JavaScript and HTML5, leaving the resulting site unspiderable for the search engine bots and unusable for website visitors. The best web developers know that a fundamental principle of excellent web design is to promote accessibility. A website with a clear, structured, easily navigable design will naturally be more popular than a website that is over complicated and seemingly unsystematic. The most successful web development services will build their campaigns around the needs of the user.

2. Make every millisecond count.

Another appearance from the previous blog and another reminder from Google that ‘speed is the killer app’. Statistics from a 2009 survey conducted by the University of Nebraska reveal that 47% of people expect a webpage to load in less than two seconds and 40% will leave and won’t return to a webpage if it takes longer than three seconds to load. Now, two or three seconds might seem very quick in offline circumstances, but the advent of high-speed broadband connections has left users craving instant gratification and nothing else will do. Google do offer tools to help webmasters check the speed of their websites, and the free advice that tool provides will help web developers boost the speed of the websites they design.

3. Simplicity is essential.

Google state in their design principles that simplicity drives the other components of good web design such as speed, ease of use, aesthetic appeal and accessibility. Consequently, simple design is often a feature of many successful web development enterprises. The overriding takeaway point for this design philosophy is to not sacrifice simplicity at the behest of additional features. These additional features may only add to the complexity of a website while diminishing accessibility and causing visitors to lose trust in a website.

4. Engage beginners, attract experts.

This is a principle that is an offshoot of simplicity. Google reference their own designs (unsurprisingly) to reinforce this point; claiming that the simplest designs should be merged with powerful features to appeal to both beginners and experts. The simple veneer will engage the beginners to your website while the in-depth features will appeal to the power users whose influence can be used to build brand awareness within the relevant community. For those practicing web design, striking the equilibrium between involving the new visitors and not alienating old users can be the most difficult proposition. However, finding that balance is often integral to a successful web development campaign.

5. Be Innovative.

While consistency in website design builds trust with the core client base, it is innovation that transforms a mediocre website into a work of art. Web developers should always be on the lookout for new ideas that could reinvigorate a stagnant website.

6. Design universally.

This is a philosophy of Google’s that relates to the exponential increase in the number of portable devices (such as smartphones and tablets) that are currently used by hundreds of millions of people around the world. It is important to cater for these users in web design because the underlying rules of web development change significantly when being designed for a portable device with a smaller screen. There is an incredible opportunity for success in mobile search optimisation for businesses looking to invest in internet marketing.

7. Plan for today and tomorrow.

Google’s seventh principle of design relates to them striving to create profitable products that are helpful to users. They also state that they would never attempt to increase the revenue of one of their products if it meant sacrificing the number of users or accessibility. For web developers this serves as yet another reminder that Google wants to look after its users, and so should all other websites. User-friendly, innovative and structured design is more likely to increase profits than adverts that clutter a page – conversion rates are more likely to boost ROI than ads.

8. Delight the eye, don’t distract the mind.

Google products can often be described as having a ‘simple elegance’, although the audience and the context in which that product is released often have an effect on the design. An instantly pleasing aesthetic that appeases first-time visitors to a site is a fantastic asset. While this can’t be achieved in every web design, it is something that web developers should strive for as it can hugely increase the chances of improving visitor experience on the site.

9. Be Trustworthy.

Google conducted a survey in the early preparatory stages of the Panda algorithm update in which they aimed to establish how human users determine the ‘quality’ of a website. One of the questions they asked was ‘would you trust this website with your credit card details?’ This notion of trustworthiness is increasingly important in web design, as evidenced by the Panda update where webpage design was an influential factor in determining the quality of a website. This could relate to the amount of adverts on the page, or the amount of original content above the fold – either way, the takeaway point of this philosophy is that websites that build trust within the user base will be much more successful.

10. Show your human side.

Again, in relation to the Google Panda update, the sites that received the most penalisation were those that appeared to be built by bots, for bots. That means that in the construction of a website little or no effort was made to satisfy the human users but rather to farm content and attempt to appease the search engines. Fortunately, this tactic no longer works and it is much more beneficial to web developers to have their human nature reflected in the websites they design. Vibrancy and personality are big plus points in web design as long as they serve to improve the experience of the users. Exhibiting passion in the sites you build is good, overindulgence is not.

It is fitting that the final point and the first point are very similar. It reflects the emphasis that Google places on accessibility and improving user experience, and this is something every web development expert knows. If you have any other queries about web design or web development, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.

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The use of the word ‘home’ to indicate the home page is a very well established convention. There was a time when it was a useful shorthand in sometimes crowded navigational systems. That time has passed. Now, with SEO and search marketing such a prominent concern for businesses, newer descriptions for the home page should be put in use in navigation.

Alternatives to ‘home’

When you drop the shorthand of ‘home,’ however, you need to replace it with something, and it’s not that easy to find something that fits in so neatly. Replacing a four-letter word with anything too big will look clunky, but this is a web design issue that you need to consider.

There are about as many alternatives to the use of ‘home’ to indicate a home page as there are web design clients, and you can discuss this with us at Click Consult. The first, and most obvious one, would be to use the business name, although this needs to be worded not to take up too much room. The business logo is another option. Regardless of the path you choose, the important thing is to be aware that your ‘home’ navigation is valuable web design real estate. Use it wisely.

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But how do you know what’s attractive to users and what will encourage them to return? One method is to leave it in the hands of a talented web designer, but you might want a more hands-on role when it comes to the design of the online face of your business.

Communication is the key word when it comes to designing your website. You probably already have a number of people visiting your site on a regular basis. Don’t keep them in the dark – if you have a forum then it might be an idea to post a poll or a topic asking for their opinion or what they’d like to see. There are also a number of websites out there that allow you to create a survey, entirely free of charge. Why not set one up and send it to people in an email to generate some ideas?

Social media can also be an incredibly handy tool when you want people’s opinion on an almost immediate basis. Post an update on your company’s Facebook page, asking what your visitors like about your site in its current form and what they feel could be changed for the better. Or circulate a blog post about the potential redesign on Twitter to not only get a broader opinion, but to get word of your brand out there.

Though beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, when it comes to your website, the more constructive opinion you can get on your design the better!

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“It’s not often we get a message from the BBC’s technical support teams saying, ‘Total outage of all BBC websites’. But for getting on for an hour this evening, until just before midnight, that’s what happened.

“We haven’t yet had a full technical debrief, but it’s clear it was a major network problem. We’d like to apologise to everyone who couldn’t get onto the BBC News website during that time.”

The BBC, like every website on the internet of course, isn’t perfect! Things like this happen, and it’s got the exposure it has simply because it’s the BBC. But it’s an example we feel we can highlight to those who invest in internet marketing – if you can make your external priorities as safe and secure as possible, then it’ll help to eliminate technical mistakes such as this and hopefully make them more infrequent.

Having a good, solid, secure server should see ‘technical mistakes’ reduce, especially if it’s maintained and stored properly. A fast server will please visitors to your site with speedy load times and encourage them to return in the future. Having a good web presence isn’t all about web design and the best deals, you know. Look beyond your pages, and offer visitors a complete solution.

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Having attractive web pages which show off your content in an effective manner and convince people to return in the future is an investment that’s worth its weight in gold – both in a creative and profitable sense. Think about things in a practical sense – as a consumer and a searcher yourself, you wouldn’t really trust your money with a website that has terrible content?

Good web design combined with the appropriate search optimisation techniques will see increased exposure for your online presence and more conversions for your products and services. An attractive web space is key to getting people to return to your site long into the future, and to keep sales consistent over a period of time.

Beauty, though, is in the eye of the beholder. How do you know what looks good and what doesn’t? How do you impart your own sense of style onto your web platform whilst also pleasing your core customers?

A lot of it is down to personal preference, but it’s essential that you do some research to see what your current visitors feel about your site in its current form. It’s a good idea to do a survey to ask people what they currently enjoy when they visit your site and what they feel could be changed. By throwing in some personality and creativity alongside objective user opinion and state of the art search techniques, you’ll be able to create a website that attracts organic visitors and more in the long run.

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More and more people are doing their tax returns online as the years roll by. But whenever we visit the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) website, our heads swim with an enormous mass of links, subpages and information. We know doing a tax return shouldn’t be fun or interesting, but it also shouldn’t be confusing to the average person.

The front page of the HMRC website contains well over fifty links to subpages across the site, all housed in a cluster in the middle of the page. Clicking on these links (let’s try ‘Pension schemes’ and ‘CIS’) takes us to more pages with, surprise surprise, even more links!

While we’re being critical, we understand that HMRC need to be as intricate as possible. It’s a government website, after all. They need to make sure that as much information as possible is accessible to all areas of the public. From a web design point of view though, we’re unsure as to the benefits of having pages with massive blocks of text and information – we think it’s incredibly hard to digest, and having so many visible links makes it easy for people to get lost.

But HRMC aren’t looking at things from an internet marketing point of view. And they rightly shouldn’t – they’re there to give as much information to the public as possible to help them do their taxes online. But those massive blocks of text need to be broken up, to make them easier to read and understand.

Tax doesn’t have to be taxing, or so the saying goes…

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They have recently spoken accused both Hertfordshire Constabulary and Bedfordshire Police of using jargon in their press releases to seemingly ‘bury bad news’, and that recent press releases regarding gun checks contained ‘corporate management speak’, with the whole message of the press release not being mentioned until the 75th word.

When writing a press release for search marketing purposes it’s important that you make the content as clean and as clear as possible, as soon as possible, to not only give readers the information they are looking for but to also keep them reading!

This shouldn’t just be reserved for press releases – all parts of your web presence, be it web design or blog posts, should be as clean and as clear as possible. Nobody wants to spend their time on a website sifting and crawling through murky content. Think of the logistics in a customer service fashion. When you go shopping and speak to somebody behind the till looking for a straight answer, you don’t want to waste time chatting or being told unrelated information. Clarity is key to good customer service.

Think about having fantastic images that show off your products, as well as to-the-point information that entices and informs. Press releases may just be one part of your marketing campaign, but they’re also the most public part. Relaying as much information as you can to your target user base and being as informative as possible will stick in their minds, as they are and after they’ve finished reading.

The best way to attract new users is to be up front and honest with them, and never hide the truth amongst swathes of useless text.

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Which is a shame, because the official Guinness website is one of the most intricate we’ve ever seen in regard to brand history. Guinness, as well as finding fame for the drink itself, is renowned for producing incredibly creative advertising campaigns that are legendary in design circles.

There’s always a danger when you win a lot of plaudits for doing something impressive that it goes to your head, and as a company, you can potentially develop a dose of pat-yourself-on-the-back-itis. Guinness, though, has no such ailment, and should be lauded for its impressive web design. It’s such a well thought-out, accessible site that we could literally stay on it for hours.

How come? Because there’s an enormous amount to discover on-site about the deep, eclectic history of how Guinness was formed, an archive of their television and print advertisements to view, social media options and more. When it comes to building a website for internet marketing purposes, Guinness has the balance just right.

It’s incredibly interactive and user-friendly, making it a website that does more than promote a brand of alcohol. It’s also essential to point out that Diageo also manufacture Smirnoff vodka and Johnnie Walker whisky – both web presences also follow the creative theme and follow a similar structure of promoting the heritage of the brand.

Though they are likely disheartened at they aren’t achieving the figures they want (and there are indeed a lot of external factors at play), Diageo can be proud of their web presence for each of their brands, and will hopefully use it as a platform to build upon for future success.

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However, some companies feel a radical overhaul rolled out all at once is the best way to go to have a bigger impact on their audience and their community. Gawker Media, for example, have chosen the latter option of late.

Gawker Media have a portfolio of incredibly successful technology websites, which includes video game blog Kotaku, successful technology blog Gizmodo and others. Each site gets an incredible amount of traffic on a daily basis, and are known for their loyal communities. That loyalty may very well be tested though, as their visitors were presented with a brand new overhaul in each site’s web design today.

Gizmodo’s blog, for instance, welcomes new visitors by explaining the new design. “You’ll see that we have one giant story on the left here when you visit Gizmodo. This makes it easy for us to point out what we think is the hottest story right now, while still allowing news to keep flowing on the right side of the page. This gives us the ability to feature a single major story of the moment, as a newspaper front page might, without losing the flow of the traditional blog. And the new page is lighter than the old and should load a lot faster.”

Not for us, we’ve been experiencing issues all day! But we’ll give Gawker the benefit of the doubt, there’s bound to be teething problems when something new is launched – it’s sod’s law. Already though there have been grumblings from hardcore visitors who don’t like the design on forums and social media platforms.

People who are comfortable with something they love are cautious of change, especially when it affects the user experience as profoundly as Gawker’s changes do. That’s something you should always keep in mind when internet marketing. Gawker Media have been ambitious with their plans, and we’re sure they’ll find success and attract new visitors with the overhaul.

But remember to always placate and please your core customers first and foremost. They’re the ones who got you to your current position, after all…

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‘Hell yes!’ That’s exactly the kind of emotion we love to see in the search marketing industry! And it’s a strong statement of future intent from the company – that support will be crucial in the coming months, as visits to Flickr are considerably lower than in previous years.

Visits to Flickr from the US stood at 21.3 million in December 2010, which is a drop of 16 per cent from the previous year. Are social media sites such as Facebook taking the fun out of Flickr with their own photo sharing services? More than likely – it’s so simple to upload a photo onto Facebook and get an instant response from your friends and family.

In fact, comScore, who calculated the Flickr figures, say that an astonishing 123.9 million users visited Facebook’s photo features. So what’s the solution? Flickr is still popular with serious photography buffs who feel they get a lot more quality images on the site, as opposed to the odd good photo mixed in amongst some blurry nightclub shots on Facebook.

But Facebook appear to be addressing that issue by the day, so if Yahoo is indeed going to throw its weight behind Flickr, then a redesign or a relaunch may be required sooner rather than later. There doesn’t seem to be much wrong from a web design point of view – Flickr is clean, clear and accessible.

Selling Flickr as a quality photo service and pushing that ethos is most likely to be the way forward. Flickr’s Matthew Rothenberg seems to think so: “To me it’s not a numbers game. I think we’re trying to build the best experience that we can and make sure our users are engaged and happy and more and more of them will sign up.”

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