Why Is Choosing a Web Designer So Important?

Why Is Choosing a Web Designer So Important?

Startup owners have a big responsibility because they are forced to make decisions that will impact their new business. Making the wrong decisions during the development of the startup could ruin the new company before it ever has a chance to get underway.

Probably one the biggest decisions that a startup owner will need to make concerns the web designer that will be hired to create the startup’s website. Hiring the wrong person for this critical assignment will basically eliminate any chance the startup has of being successful. Here are some of the primary reasons why a web designer is so vital to a startup’s long-term success.

1. Your web designer will be responsible for the first impression that your site provides about your business.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. This is true in many aspects of life. It is definitely the case when you are talking about new online businesses that have not established their brands yet. You need to impress people who are visiting your site for the first time. You will not do this if your site looks like it was designed 15 years ago.

You will also not impress people if your site looks like many of the other competing sites. The look and feel of your site will go a long way to helping you establish your brand. This is why you need to hire a web designer with the creativity to design a site for your startup that stands out from the crowd. This is why you should take a close look at the previous work of all web designers you are thinking about hiring. This will allow you to see how creative they can be.

2. A web designer will help address problems quickly if they should arise.

You are bound to have a few technical problems with your site every now and then. Most startups encounter this sort of situation as the site gets closer to launching. The pressure is not that great to fix these issues quickly before the launch.

However, all glitches and other technical problems need to be sorted out as quickly as possible after your site is officially online. The public will not put up with a site that doesn’t work properly for very long. This is why the web designer you hire will need to act quickly and solve any problems without delay. Another important task that startup owners have to do is buy a domain name.

3. Your web designer will help you to make immediate changes when you request them.

You most likely have a specific vision of how you want your startup site to look and function. Your web designer’s job is to turn your vision into a reality. This means that he needs to follow your instructions to the letter. You might change your mind about something that your web designer has already started to work on. He will need to be able to change gears quickly.

Image Credit: jdxyw http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdxyw/4843094694

Responsive Design is 2013’s Web Design Trend

responsive web design

In a May 2013 webinar, Peter Goodman, VP of Salesforce Marketing Cloud, discussed the current state of advertising in the social media space. He took a look at the major advertising platforms on the leading social networks.

Goodman explained how social advertising is the hottest topic in advertising, forecasted to reach a $11 billion in the US by 2017, according to BIA/Kelsey in April 2013. He explained that one of the critical decisions for advertisers is what placements to select. Goodman has found that while desktop placements see an engagement of 1 to 3%, mobile placements see over 3% engagement. If you are a US advertiser, you also need to consider that  eMarketer, reported that in 2012, 62.2% of US Gen X-ers and 62.2% of US Millenials access the Internet from mobile devices monthly.

If you combine these two statistics, it becomes clear that any successful digital marketing strategy in the future needs to have a mobile component. So, this is why responsive design is 2013’s design trend.

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How to Direct Attention to Your Website

direction attention to your site

The value of a website lies in the fact that it gets attention. Essentially a website is a success if it gets seen by lots of people and the reason for that is that you then have a captive audience where you or a sponsor can advertise or promote your message/product/service.

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5 Conversion Rate Mistakes Designers Often Make

conversion rate mistakes

When you hire a web designer to design a website for your company, they have a lot to think about. They must create a design that looks good, stands out, and is functional. They have to make sure that the colors look great together. They have to make sure that the design they’ve created for you properly represents your company. They have to make sure that the text is easy to read, and that they have incorporated your logo properly into the design of your site. And they have to make sure that they are doing everything in their power to help your site convert.

Whether you realize it or not, but the design of your web page can really help, or harm your conversion rates. If you are hiring an inexperienced web designer, they may not take things that will affect conversion rates into consideration. They only think about what looks good (which is very important), but taking no thought as to what will also function well, and increase your conversion rates (which is also very, very important).

Here are 5 mistakes that many designers make when it comes to designing for conversion rates:

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Fresh Web Design Straight Out of New York

review of im creator

I make a living out of making sense about people’s needs and desires about a site build, translating them into a list of requirements that my team can use, and developing a site that is exciting and fresh. Talking about fresh design gets me all revved up and I found a great web design shop in New York City: IM Creator.

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One Site Fits All or Better Having Microsites?

micrositeMany website owners as their businesses expand they come to the dilemma of splitting their sites into a few microsites so they can rank better for their targeted terms.

This is not really an easy topic and before you make such a radical move there is a lot to take into consideration.

The first thing you need to ask yourselves is why would you want do something like that?

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Open Source Web Management and Design Tools

free web design toolsEverything a web designer needs for free:

Designing and managing a website need not be an expensive affair.

There are several useful free and open source applications available for download that allow you to do everything from designing the graphics for your site to editing blog posts.

This list is not comprehensive, but rather provides the categories for each step of website management, as well as open source examples of tools you can use.

Special thanks to 34sp.com dedicated web hosting for their insight.

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