WEB DESIGN FOR BUSINESSES THAT WANT RESULTS

If you want a web marketing system that enables you to test and measure the effects of different web designs, prices, promotions and messages, talk to Epicado.

Effective web design is not always about what looks good. It’s also about:

• clarifying what you want people to do
• addressing the needs and wants of your prospects
• creating an easy to follow route towards your desired actions.

It’s about making words and pictures work together to create compelling communication.

And it’s about testing and measuring every element in your communications.

To find out how Epicado can help you build a more effective web design and marketing strategy, complete the form or call us now on 0845 303 3001.

We design all types of websites for UK businesses, Gloucestershire retailers, Bristol engineers, Birmingham lingerie shops and Stroud wellie knitters. Have a look here.

THEY SAID WHAT?!

“Fantastic design. You’ve created a site that reflects the quality and professionalism that we strive to deliver and a marketing approach that will give us a competitive edge.”

Rob Lister - www.lister-communications.co.uk

“My brief was for the site to be clear, crisp and customer friendly. Epicado, with their admirable methods of interpretation, came up with the finished product with a real wow factor.”

Karen Tomalin - www.2ndskinlingerie.co.uk

Seven top web design tips

Practical tips for effective websites.

1. Select a colour scheme that’s right for your sector

You may already have a logo or even a visual identity. If so, you’re on your way.

But, if you’re starting from scratch, choose two or three complementary colours that are right for your type of business and use them consistently - don’t change colours on every page. (unless you want to use the colours to separate your services, like us.)

The most common colour schemes include:

• red, yellow and white
• blue and white
• red, grey and white
• blue, orange and white
• yellow, grey and white.

If you’re not sure what colour scheme to choose, have a look at your competitors and websites that you like. You can then choose a colour scheme that looks good and differentiates you from your competitors.

2. Make your navigation simple

This is one of the most important issues to consider when designing a website. You need to ensure your visitors can find what they are looking for easily within 3 clicks at the most. Most websites display their navigation bar on the left or at the top. And as people are lazy and creatures of habit, it’s best to stick with this approach.

It also helps to include your navigation bar at the bottom of each page to save your visitors from having to scroll back to the top.

3. Go easy on the graphics

Special effects are fine if they add to your message but they can distract visitors from the content and take too long to download. Your visitors may ‘click off’ before your sexy presentation has appeared. The other factor to consider is that search engine spiders have problems in reading anything other than pure text.

4. Legible backgrounds

Make it easy for visitors to read your text by providing a strong contrast between the background and the font colour. Don’t put black text on a dark blue background or yellow on white. Ensure that your links are visible before and after being visited. The default for links in most programs is blue (before being visited) and burgundy (after being visited), so if you have a dark background, ensure your links are light.

5. Don’t lose your visitors with external links

Make sure that links to other websites open in a new window so that your visitors can easily return to your site when they’ve finished browsing the external link.

6. Site maps & search features

Site maps are now essential for search engines, especially if your website has more than 15 pages. If it works, it is useful to have a “Search” feature to ensure your visitors can quickly find what they’re looking for. But, whatever you do, don’t offer a Search feature that doesn’t work - they’re the spawn of Beelzebub!

7. Content, content, content

While it is important that your website looks clean and professional, it is far more important that you offer valuable content. People use the internet to find useful information and they want it quick.

If you want an effective website to which people return, please avoid these pet hates:

1. Flash intros, revolving globes, bevelled line separators and animated mail boxes.
2. Loads of pop up or pop under boxes. They’re ok in their place but don’t overdo it.
3. Autoplay muzac yuk! Allow your customer to play music only if they choose.
4. Hit counters telling people “you are the 4th visitor” wow!
5. Date and time stamps, unless you update your website daily or weekly.
6. Busy backgrounds that make it impossible to read the content.

If all of this sounds like hard work, it is we know because we do it every day. Which, all modesty aside, means we can probably do a better job than you and in a lot less time.

Call us for a chat on 0845 303 3001.

Tell us what you’re trying to achieve - we’ll tell you how to do it.