Web Design 101
The process of creating a new web site can be a daunting one, especially if you are not familiar with the web. This article will help you to understand exactly what you are getting into when you decide to create a web site. Even if you already have a site for your company, this may help you to utilize and market it.
Domain Name
The first ingredient to a successful web site is a domain name (www.yourcompany.com). Nothing is more important to the success of your site than having a clear, easy to remember domain name. The name should be both descriptive and relevant to your company without being too cumbersome. Avoid dashes (best-widgets.com) or strange spellings (widgetz.com) as you may inadvertently be sending visitors to your competition!
Domain names have become very affordable, and you should be paying no more than $10/year for yours. We use a company called GoDaddy and have always enjoyed great service.
Hosting
Once you have your domain name, you need a place to put your web site so that web surfers can view it. A Web Host is a company who provides this service for you. Basically, you are renting space on a computer that has a direct connection to the Internet. There are literally thousands of companies out there that provide this service, some better than others. We have our own dedicated server with Rackspace, which we provide space on for our clients. We control who is on the server, so you won't have the potential of getting blacklisted for being on the same server as a spammer.
Hosting prices will depend on the complexity and size of your web site, as well as how many e-mail addresses you will need. A basic site (like ours) runs about $10/month while a complex e-commerce site (like bellalucce.com) will run in the $40/month range.
If you would rather find your own web host, you can do so at FindMyHosting.com.
Types of Web Sites
Now we get into the nuts and bolts of the web site. The first order of business is to decide what type of site you are going to want. Will you be selling things? Will you be gathering information from users? Will the site just be for advertising purposes? All of these questions and more will help us determine the best construction method for the site. To keep things simple, we will classify sites into three basic categories: Brochure, Dynamic and E-Commerce.
Brochure - A brochure site is the easiest (and therefore most inexpensive) to build and is constructed using a programming language called HTML. There are a number of additional programming languages that work with HTML including JavaScript and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). CSS is quickly becoming the accepted standard on the web, it helps web pages load much more quickly and makes changes much easier to accomplish. All the sites we create use the most current standards, so you can rest assured that your site will be as current technologically as possible.
A basic site is fairly easy to update, loads quickly and can even be updated and edited by you :)
Dynamic - A dynamic web site creates web pages 'on the fly' from a database of information. Typically dynamic sites are used for sites with large amounts of information, or when the information on a site needs to be changed often. Because of the complexity of a database driven site, they are more expensive to create and more expensive to host. These types of sites are sometimes referred to as Content Management Systems.
E-Commerce - An e-commerce site is, of course, one that sells something, such as the giant Amazon.com. There are many different e-commerce packages out there, but we use X-Cart (www.x-cart.com) which has proven to be extremely flexible, as well as quit affordable to set-up and maintain. See our E-Commerce 101 article for a more detailed explination on these types of systems.
Navigation
One of the most important aspects of a web site is the navigation system, especially for large, complex web sites. A simple, clean navigation system will help the visitor find exactly what they are looking for and keep them interested by offering different topics to choose from. Traditionally, a navigation system is located on the left or the top of a page, although other locations are sometimes used as well.
At this point in the design process, we usually ask the client to come up with an outline of the information they would like to present. This helps us design the hierarchy of the site, and then transfer it into a menu and file system.
Look and Feel
Once you have decided how the site will be constructed, it is time to design the look and feel of the site. Here is where having a designer on board is essential. Getting the site to express the look and feel of your company is not always an easy task. At Ryan Design Studio, we first design 'proofs' of what the site could look like before we actually create the web site itself. We often go through 4-5 different versions before the final image is perfected. Each site we design is unique, we do not use cookie cutter templates like you may find elsewhere. We are a firm believer in clean, simple, easy to navigate sites.
Content
On the web, content is king. Search engines (more on these later) won't find your site unless the text on your site is appropriate for your particular market. We recommend hiring a copywriter or professional business writer, even if it is just to look over your text once. Keep your content clear, concise and to the point.
Building the site
Once you approve the look of the proofs and have the content written, we will incorporate it all into your new web site. As the site is being built, you will be able to monitor the progress, and adjust it accordingly. The beauty of the web is that you can add and subtract images, text and even whole pages with ease. Many of our clients update their pages monthly, some even do it daily.
Marketing
Once the site is complete, people need to be able to find it. The first thing you need to do is put your URL (yoursite.com) on every piece of information your company generates. Letterhead, business cards, christmas cards, everything. The more times people see it, the more likely they are to visit it and pass it along to their friends.
Search Engines
Search engines are the way the majority of people on the web find information. Right now, the most popular of the search engines is Google. When someone types a search phrase into Google, it will spit out thousands of links for the user to look at. How close you are to the top of these results depends on quite a few things, but mainly it relies on content. For example, if you sell widgets, your web site is widgets.com and you mention the word widgets 30 times on your site while your competitor only has it 20 times, chances are pretty good that you will be above them. This is just a rough example, but it gives you an idea of how it works. The actual algorithm Google uses to rank web sites is complex beyond belief, and how many competitors you have will greatly impact your results as well.
We will help you to get listed with all of the major search engines, as well as helping you optimize your pages for the best possible ranking. While there are many companies out there who 'guarantee' a top 10 listing on the search engines, that is just about impossible without cheating. We'll help you with a strategy to continually move up the rankings, and maybe even someday you will be at the top.
Directories
Sites like Yahoo are called directories. These differ from search engines in that web sites are listed according to category and are actually reviewed by a human being when they are submitted. This sometimes makes it easier to find what you are looking for, as you don't get as much of the 'junk' that search engines generate. Yahoo costs money to submit your site to, but many of the directories are free. A good example of a directory we are listed in is The Design Firm Directory.
Maintenance & Updating
A good web site is never completely finished. Adding and updating content is essential to keep visitors (as well as search engines) coming back to your site time and time again. We can teach you how to update your own site, or, we can update it for you whenever you would like.
Pricing
Ah, the bottom line. Many people are under the impression that it costs tens of thousands of dollars to create a web site. This may be true if you are Amazon.com, but the majority of web sites for small and medium-sized businesses can be created for a fraction of that. We are very flexible, and able to work within almost any budget. A simple one or two page 'static' site can be done for $750, while a basic E-commerce site starts at about $1500. Please feel free to contact us for a more accurate quote.
We hope this information was helpful. If you have specific questions, or just want to know more about a particular topic, please feel free to contact us.