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  Author: Demo Administrator

  Picking a Good Site Design

  Creating the Site; The Client Story: 80% of the clients that are in the market for a Web site have been severely taken advantage of, or mistreated in the past. They have been ripped off by a Web designer who either charged too much, held them captive or never finished the site.

  The other 20% are always interested but often afraid to take the leap. What do you need to know before hiring someone to create a site for you? Let's begin by dissolving some common myths about the Web: SEO: the facts. The FACT is that NOBODY can PROMISE that you'll be the TOP link on a Google search UNLESS you are willing to pay for an ad slot on their site.

The real trick to SEO is to have quality content that readers want. Search engines today rely less and less on the metadata and MORE on the traffic you're generating.

Getting "traffic" (getting hits to your site): Build it and they will come. Just because you built a site DOES NOT mean that you'll suddenly start getting traffic. When you first build a site, it's what we like to call a "mall in the dessert". There are no roads and no signs leading to it. To generate traffic you must build those signs using social media, advertising and word of mouth marketing.

More features=better site (flash intros, widgets, etc.). This is never the case. Keep in mind that TOO many things moving, rotating and flashing can actually DISTRACT your customers from the content and message of your site. How to find a Professional and

Avoiding the Others: When it comes to Web design there are MANY choices available, but few worth using. Keep in mind that it's EASY and FAST to make a site that LOOKS good, but slower and more involved to make a site that will BE good.

Making a site that is EFFECTIVE requires a great deal of planning and experience-- the good news is that there are many telltale signs of an amateur or a con

Here is a list of tips to help you watch out for pitfalls:

You're designers Should NOT be:

• Sister so-n-so's newphew, who's good with computers
• Someone with no portfolio
• A company that focuses primarily on the appearance of the site
• Trying to sell you unnecessary visual flashiness (flash intros flash banners, spinning, rotating, animated things.)
• PROMISING you high results in search engines

You're Designer SHOULD Be:

• Asking about your audience
• Asking about the details of your organization
• Interested in reaching your site's visitors more than visually
• Making suggestions for presenting your content.
• Not afraid to step out and warn you against potentially bad ideas you may have

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