So, you’re now about to set up your new website. You purchased a domain name. The next thing to do is, of course, to get a reliable Singapore web hosting company to help keep you online and host all your files and contents that you will upload on your website soon. It’s always advisable to shop around for the best web hosting packages that offers an outstanding services that suits your budget and requirements. Up next is the overall design and layout of your site.
Web design is a deal breaker for any website, and it’s often the keystone as to whether your website will stand strong, or crumble and fall by the wayside. Done right, it engages your client and provides an interesting online experience that clearly meets and surpasses their expectations. Done wrong, and the potential disaster will have clients running for the hills.
Things change, too, and over time you may realize that your website needs a facelift. So, for the benefit of those out there who realize the need for a website to accurately reflect what it is it’s supposed to be promoting, here’s a handy list of things to keep in mind while doing the design.
Know your Audience
If you know who your target audience is, you’re on your way to personalizing the online experience for them. Excluding your demographic and alienating those who’d actually use your website is a complete no-no. And yet it’s so easily done through excessive gimmickry, over-indulgent fancy language and gaudy design. Keep it simple; talk to your audience as a fellow shopper, not as a business.
The Message
Make sure your motivational message is clear – your ethos, your ultimate goals, principles and core beliefs need to be concise and obvious from the very beginning. If they’re not, then it reflects to your visitors an uncertainty deep within you, a lack of focus that isn’t fooling anyone. Consider also that most internet users will only pay attention to what’s “above the fold” – that is, before they need to scroll down the page – and so tailor your page to that end, putting as much of your major content on the homepage as possible. In the same vein, make sure your graphic and color scheme are serving you well enough to highlight your message, and not detract from it.
Room to breathe
Websites grow and expand with fluctuating markets and traffic trends, and even though it’s always a great idea to start basic and simple, you should leave yourself enough room to grow. Make sure you always have ample space to expand your site with extra pages if you need to, in order to accommodate future development.
Plan ahead
Related to the previous idea is good planning. Planning future improvements, scheduling content and maintenance work, is all part of keeping your website fresh and relevant to users, and ensures you’re not succumbing to the rages of old age before your time.
Do your research
Know your competition. Take the time to browse your competitors’ websites, taking note of what you like, and conversely, what you don’t. Pretend like you’re a potential client viewing their services for the first time. What works? What feels cold and fake? Use these pointers in the web site design of your business, and you’ll be onto a winner.
Keeran Ang is an accomplished blogger who loves sharing his latest cooking recipes and gadget reviews on his own personal blog. In his free time, he loves taking walks and playing the guitar.
