Tag: design

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Web Navigation is So Important to Your Website

Web DesignAll good web designers know not to overlook specific aspects of web design like navigation. Navigation is just what it sounds like – how people get around on your website. If your site is lacking in effective navigation, it is not going to work for your business the way you need it. Here are some reasons why website navigation is so important.

Web Navigation

People can enter your site from several different pages.

Some people make the mistake of designing their website entirely on the home page. It is important to remember, however, that a multitude of your site’s pages may be ranked simultaneously by search engines. People will be able to access your website from pages other than your homepage. Without proper navigation, visitors could get stuck on a page and not be able to move on to explore more of your site.

You don’t want to put your site visitors to work.

Simply put, users don’t want to work hard to explore your site. A lousy navigation network can mean multiple clicks (and guesses) to get the desired information. If you force your visitors to put in too much effort, you will lose their interest. And you will lose them.

Your site should be well-organized.

Again, this comes down to helping your site visitors find what they need, with as little effort as possible. You can’t expect people to understand how to get where they want to go automatically. Navigation is your way of organizing your site. For example, by making good use of primary navigation, secondary navigation, menus, and internal linking, you can create a user experience that is likely to keep people interested, and loyal, to your site.

If they can’t find it, they can’t read it.

You put a lot of money and time into creating, aggregating, and commissioning content for your site. Simply put, if your website is not designed with navigation in mind, your visitors won’t be able to find your content. If they can’t find it, they can’t read it. So what good is that content?

Why Web Navigation is So Important in Your Website DesignWhen it comes to building your brand, your website is one of your most powerful tools. Contact Dr. John Elcik at identityXperts to handle all of your web design needs. We can be reached by phone at (561) 543-2892 or email: jelcik@identityXperts.com.

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Design Essentials for Websites: 5 Must-Haves

Web DesignWhen people think of web design, they often think of things like graphics, page layout, and attention-grabbing fonts. And yes, these elements are certainly part of web design. The truth is, however, that web design essentials encompass much more than just aesthetics. Are you interested in learning more about what makes a great website design? Then check out these five must-have website design essentials:

Navigation.

Navigation pertains to how people will get around on your site. You can’t make them work for it. You want all of your content to be readily available, and good navigation is the answer. Use primary navigation, secondary navigation, text menus, internal links, search boxes, and breadcrumbs wisely. Do this throughout your site to ensure your site visitors can easily find what they are looking for.

Leading the eye

Navigating through the site, you must also help visitors determine how to focus their attention on each page. You must “lead the eye,” so to speak, by strategically applying weighting, placement, positioning, spacing, and highlighting techniques to guide your visitors from areas of primary importance to supporting or secondary areas.

Typography

The type and size of font you use will significantly impact the user experience and will go a long way in creating the impression you want (or even one you don’t want if you are not careful). Additionally, you must consider line spacing, text effects, line length, paragraph size, and emphasis (italics and bold) when placing your typography.

Clarity

While it may be tempting to pack your website with all the neat graphics and informative content you can, it is more important that your site visitors can quickly ascertain what is on your page. Keep in mind that simplicity is almost always preferable over complexity when it comes to web design and that too many visuals (or too much information) could end up looking like nothing more than a jumbled mess to your site visitors.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

Your site is no good if others can’t find it on the web. When it comes to design essentials, good SEO practices include using alt text for images, no-following outbound links that are irrelevant to the site, and labeling page titles and headers effectively.

Design Essentials for Websites: 5 Must-HavesWhen it comes to building your brand, your website is one of your most powerful tools. Contact Dr. John Elcik at identityXperts to handle all of your web design needs. We can be reached by phone at (561) 543-2892 or email: jelcik@identityXperts.com.

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Brand Designing – Traditions tо Digital Age

BrandingWhеn thе saint preaches tranquility оf life, artist preaches tranquility оf design”, said Van Zeller. If уоu say art аnd business walk side bу side thеn іt іѕ nоt wrong. Tо brand а product оr company, іt ѕhоuld bе wеll designed.

“Branding іѕ design bесаuѕе еvеrу consumer’s contact wіth а brand involves thе name, product іtѕеlf, thе logo, thе colors, thе signature tune, thе advertising, thе packaging, thе store”, says Sujata Guha.

Thе three key rules оf marketing аrе brand recognition, brand recognition аnd brand recognition. Tо carve оr enhance brand recognition, excellence іn design іѕ required.

Designing mау bе а conventional concept fоr most оf uѕ but designing а brand іѕ becoming creative аnd unconventional profession fоr business. Craft аnd thoughts walk together іn brand designing. Converting shapes іn special symbolization wіth purpose аnd hints іѕ creation after еvеrу brand.

Brand Design

“Brand equity іѕ built uроn thе emotional meanings оf brand design аnd brand promotion. It іѕ nоt dependent uроn іtѕ sources оf production оr thе source оf іtѕ company ownership”, says M Kotler.

Brand designing іѕ accountable fоr thе visual articulation оf brands асrоѕѕ аll packaging аnd promotions. Brand design solutions connect wіth consumers, build brand loyalty, аnd produce superior quality packaging tо achieve competitive edge іn thе marketplace.

It іѕ аn art and а science. Thе art іѕ іn interpreting key competitive advantages visually. Thе science іѕ іn knowing how tо uѕе аnу аnd аll media available tо connect уоu wіth уоur audience.

Whаt do уоu need tо know whіlе designing а brand?

If wе go tо understand ‘Brand” thеn іn simple terms, ” Brand іѕ name, term, sign, symbol, design оr combination оf аll.” Brand design іѕ аn enhancement іn current brand look.

Describing brand design іn detail, Paul Barlow says, “Brand design encompasses а vast array оf design disciplines, frоm traditional graphics skills tо digital design, broadcast animation, retail, interiors аnd even architecture. Now products thеmѕеlvеѕ аrе coming under thе wing оf brand design аѕ each аnd еvеrу manifestation оf аn organization starts tо communicate thе brand values”.

Elements

Thе most powerful element іn process оf brand designing іѕ ‘Color’.

Color

Get attention. Uѕе color like red, yellow, black оr аnу bright color thаt gets уоu tо notice. Hоwеvеr building synergy requires balance оf proportions, position оf product аnd іtѕ category ассоrdіng tо product. Thе powerful color does nоt оnlу represent іtѕ strength but аlѕо іtѕ stability tоо. Fоr example, thе design оf XEROX – Thе Document Company uses blue, black, red, yellow аnd green circles, whісh explains color whеn уоu need іt.

Style

Thе best layout thаt provides maximum stands оut аn effect fоr brand. An artistic movement minimalism ICICI uses іt wіth overlapping оf orange аnd brown rounds аnd іn bеtwееn thе uѕе оf text wіth bold transparent “I”. Thе launch campaign fоr Hutch bу Ogilvy uses minimalist aesthetics tо powerful effect- thе large, blank “white spaces” wіth а tight close-uр оf а smiling face, аnd а crisp, bold “Hi” wаѕ striking, аnd immediately moved Hutch into а league аll іtѕ own.

Border

Music іѕ hidden but greatly integrated element іn brand designing. Designing іѕ nоt limited оnlу tо color аnd curves. Uѕе оf special theme аnd establish а new identity іn a еvеr-present way. Take thе jingles оf Nescafe оr Titan. Airtel reached tо new frontiers іn branding whеn іt unveiled A R Rehman’s catchy signature theme аnd used іt tо асtuаllу define thе brand.

Designing Digital Economy

Moving tо digital economy, оn thе Internet, уоu оnlу have one second tо make а powerful impression, tо establish уоur professionalism аnd start building trust, tо generate thе interest оf уоur target audience аnd tо begin downloading уоur value proposition аnd tо initiate compelling sales overture.

Brand designing іn аn e-commerce perspective іѕ more thаn just aesthetically pleasing graphic design. Thе design оf thе graphic user interfaces оn thе Internet іѕ often оf critical importance. Full оf brand-building Flash, sluggish multimedia plug-ins, overindulgent mission statements оr content thаt serves no еnd. Have а tactical rationale fоr thе placement оf еvеrу graphic, еvеrу image аnd еvеrу word. Thuѕ design knowledge based brand.

In thе design process, companies саn integrate knowledge оf thеіr customers’ needs аnd wishes directly wіth new knowledge аbоut materials аnd design – оr wіth knowledge аbоut thе new opportunities thаt lie іn thе uѕе оf information аnd communication technology tо profile thеmѕеlvеѕ аnd thеіr products.

Brand Designing - Traditions tо Digital AgeWhen it comes to building your brand, your website is one of your most powerful tools. Contact Dr. John Elcik at identityXperts to handle all of your web design needs. We can be reached by phone, at (239) 400-0622, or email: jelcik@identityXperts.com.

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3 Website Design Elements to Avoid

There are design elements to avoid. When you design a website, your most important goal is to make it as easy as possible for visitors to use it while still providing a welcoming aspect that represents what your business is about. No matter how wonderful your product or service might be, your website has to present it well, or you won’t be making any sales; instead, your visitors will be clicking the back button.

When we talk about good website design, we aren’t talking only about art or graphic design. You must take into account; accessibility for the user, the layout and interface design, and of course, the graphic design. Each of these contributes to an overall well-thought-out website design.

To help you out, we’ve made a list of a few of the worst features that come up in web design. After you read this list, you can check out your own site and see how it compares; if you notice any of these features on your website, perhaps it’s time to revamp your design.

Background music

Too many sites seem to want to provide a soundtrack with looping background music. Frankly, we really only recommend it for websites that are promoting a band or other music-related products. While having a little tune playing under your site might seem fun at first, it can be a real annoyance to a website visitor trying to browse your site – every time they click over to another page, the music starts all over again. Many visitors will either turn down their volume – or worse, click away from your site. What’s more, visitors with a slow internet connection have to wait for the music to download when they visit, slowing down their ability to browse your site.

Text that’s too big or too small

Like we mentioned, there’s much more to the design than simply the graphics – user-friendliness is a big part of what makes your website work. And a part of that is the text size; text needs to be large enough to be legible but not so large that it makes it hard to read. Another thing along the same lines is the text color – make sure that there’s enough contrast between the text and the background that you can read it without straining.

Popup windows

Many surveys have found that popup ads or windows are among the top annoyances on the internet; most people ignore them or immediately click the back button rather than deal with them. In fact, most people have put popup “blockers” on their computer so that they rarely have to see the things. So not only are they annoying to the people who do see them, whatever message you’re using them to convey is not being seen by many people who come to your site. If that message is important, it’s most likely getting lost; you need to find a better way to get it in front of your visitors.

Remember that as a webmaster or site designer, your main concern is making sure that your site effectively conveys your message to your visitors. Take a good look at your site to ensure that your message isn’t being lost or ignored because of a relatively minor design flaw!
Pragmatic Web Designer

Dr. John P. Elcik, IV
The Pragmatic Web Designer

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How Much Does a Quality Website Cost?

Web DesignPlanning your web design budget

Every website is different, making pricing an “art” more than a “science” with web developers using many methods to determine the cost of web design. There are four common types of web design pricing today: Hourly rates, Project price, Package rates, and Per page. Below we describe each of the common methods for website pricing. If you already have a requirements list for your website, ask for a quote.

Charging hourly

A prevalent way for web designers to charge is by the hour. Depending on the experience, your location, and many other factors, the hourly rate can be anywhere from $10 outsourced overseas to $200 per hour for a high-level consultant! It is is a vast difference, but you can find both and everything in between.

The important thing is to remember – you do “get what you pay for.” Make sure the web developer is worth the rate they charge. Always check with the designer’s past clients. Standard hourly rates:

  • Student/Offshore: $10-$30/hour
  • Freelancer: $35-$100/hour
  • Expert Consultant: $50-$200/hour
  • Company: $75-$150/hour

Per project pricing

Many web design firms will give you a set price to complete your project. It can be a good option. Make sure you have a thorough and complete requirements list before you begin the project. A good design firm will break out each proposal section with a list of features, specifications, and assumptions for each section of your website. Please make sure you get it in writing, so you both have clear expectations. Typical pricing for projects:

  • Outsourced Offshore: $500 – $15,000
  • US Designer: $3,000 – $20,000
  • US Web Design Firm: $5,000 – $50,000

Package rates

Many web designers will have pre-made packages that are usually cheaper than the project model. The drawback of packages is that they try and fit your business into a pre-made website that might not have all the bells and whistles a custom site has. Most designers, however, will have a flat package rate then allow you to request customization at an additional charge. Package rates at Pragmatic Web Design begin at $299 for up to 3 pages.

Per page pricing

Some web designers charge a flat rate per page; this can range from as low as $50 to $200 per page. This pricing is usually for basic static brochure websites that do not require a lot of custom features. The per-page price may go down with a bulk discount depending on the number of pages you need. Typically, designers with less experience are the ones who usually charge per page prices.

Brochure websites

In this day and age, a company needs to have an online presence and a corporate brochure site. A “brochure” site means a website that serves as an online brochure that gives general information about your company’s products and services. A brochure site does not have complex database programming, e-commerce, or lots of interactivity. It serves as an online advertisement that features graphic design. These websites may start for as little as $500 or be as high as $2,500.

Complex websites

E-commerce, Corporate or Commercial websites can range from very simple to very complex. There are quite a few things to consider when preparing to budget. More complex sites feature a greater level of interactivity and database integration. You may need a private intranet for employee communication and document sharing, or an extranet to share information and track vendors and customers. If you choose the lowest price possible, you will probably not get any qualified providers to respond. These websites usually start around $5,000 and can go as high as $25,000 depending on the complexity. Sites can go as high as $100,000.

Summary

If you have a requirements list for your website or would like to develop one, call 239-400-0622 or email jelcik@pragmaticwebdesigner.com a request for a quote. At Pragmatic Web Designer, we make estimating a project easy. Package pricing is online, and our other rates are $50 an hourly or $100 a page. A requirements list is the basis for project proposals.

How Much Does a Quality Website Cost?When it comes to building your brand, your website is one of your most powerful tools. Contact Dr. John Elcik at identityXperts to handle all of your web design needs. You can reach us by phone at (561) 543-2892 or email: jelcik@identityXperts.com.