Web Design: Increase the Efficiency of Your Web Design Business

Increase the Efficiency of Your Web Design Business

Written by Micah D. Cranman

You know, these days, it's pretty easy to find information building a web site. You can find info on everything from how to create your graphics to what content you should include on your web site. More than likely, you could probably write articles on building web sites with all repparttar

knowledge you've gathered. However, there's more to running a successful web design business than being able to build great web sites. First, you have to take care of repparttar 134560

logistics of running that business. And that's what this article is about: teaching you what you need to know about running your web design business. So, here's a list of steps and processes you must implement to run an efficient web design business. 1.Employ a client questionnaire before starting a project. In order to accurately estimate repparttar 134561

cost of a project (for you and for repparttar 134562

potential client), you have to know exactly what repparttar 134563

client needs and wants. By using a questionnaire that asks all repparttar 134564

right questions, you can pinpoint repparttar 134565

time you'll need for repparttar 134566

project and what your costs are going to be. Additionally, a questionnaire has repparttar 134567

added benefit of showing repparttar 134568

customer that you really know what you're doing and that you're serious about getting their site exactly right. 2.Create formal proposals for clients. Many potential clients want to know exactly what they'll be getting, in written terms, before starting on a project. They want to know what their options are, what your ideas for their project are, and most importantly, they want to know that you're a true professional. A formal proposal says a number of things about your firm: oYou're well established oYou have meticulous business practices oYou're very serious about your work oYou're very good at what you do Here's what to include in your proposals: oa cover sheet oa cover letter oexact site specifications odevelopment guidlines opayment terms osite storyboard oa contract (see below) 3.Create a set of generic, multi-purpose legally binding documents. Oftentimes, a client must request that you do not disclose information about their business practices, trade secrets, etc. to anyone. Most clients will feel uncomfortable simply "taking your word for it" and will require an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) to be signed by you. When this happens, it's extremely expensive and time-consuming to involve a lawyer to draw up repparttar 134569

agreement. It's far easier to have a generic document on hand that you can customize as needed and just use whenever you have repparttar 134570

need.

The Core Elements of a Successful Website

Written by Micah D. Cranman

It seems to me that many of you who are new to building websites are having trouble figuring out exactly what makes repparttar

difference between a website that's effective and one that doesn't produce results. For example, I recently received this from Sybren Design Chronicles reader Marvin Baerg:

This is a suggestion for an inclusion of an article on site design tips. It would be great if you could give some URL's of "excellently" designed sites with repparttar 134559 reasons WHY they are superior, in order to give a model to those of us who are still amateurs at web design . Maybe also a not-so-good-one, but then again, that may be construed as slander.

I told Marvin that was a great idea, and that I'd love to do an article like that—and that's what this article is. However, instead of focusing on repparttar 134560 sites themselves, I'm going to focus on repparttar 134561 aspects of repparttar 134562 sites that make them so great. So, let's begin.

First, there are always five core elements to a successful website: global navigation, clean and attractive design, effective sales copy, appropriate text formatting, and value to repparttar 134563 vistor. Let's explore each of these in more detail:

(Please note that with each element I explain, I may give an example of a good site and possibly a bad site. In no way are these examples meant to be an insult to repparttar 134564 site owners or reflect upon repparttar 134565 quality of their products. I'm simply pointing out what is, in my opinion, good design and bad design.)

Global Navigation - It's absolutely vital that your visitors be able to quickly and easily navigate your site and find what they need. In order to provide for this, a site must have a navigation system that will allow them to reach repparttar 134566 main sections of repparttar 134567 site immediately, and it must always be available and recognizable to repparttar 134568 visitor.

Good Example: www.sybren.net. I'm probably a little biased here as this is my site, but really, note that no matter what selection you make or what part of repparttar 134569 site you're in, you can always get to repparttar 134570 "main" parts of repparttar 134571 site with one click.

Bad Example: www.magic-city.net. Note that as you move through this site, you have to constantly return to repparttar 134572 home page in order to navigate to other pages.

Clean and Attractive Design - A site that reflects a professional appearance is essential. While it's not absolutely vital that your site be designed by a professional, keeping it organized and free of clutter is imperative.

To do so, make a logical outline of how you think your site's pages should be organized and then build (or rebuild) repparttar 134573 site around that outline. Also, remove anything from your site that isn't generating results for you. It's just making your site cluttered.

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