Website design basics & help
Serious Sites have put together a few basics to help you get your website designed, built and online.
For assistance contact us, or why not take a look at what our customers say.
Tutorial video
Serious sites website design have put together a video which is a great overview on why your business will benefit from a website and the various steps involved in getting your business online. Play video...
More information is detailed on this page, if you are in any doubt always contact a professional as your online presence is important.
Why your business needs a website
A website has become a key part of any business that informs your existing and potential customers about your business, products and/or services from your website. Websites are available 24 hours a day, this gives your customers greater flexibility in engaging with you.
Serious Sites web site based in Great Yarmouth will design and create a professional online presence for your business, websites are a great way for businesses to ingrain confidence and to build business.
Where to start
- You will need a domain name perhaps a .co.uk, .com or even both. If you intend to hire a professional to create your website you should consult them before obtaining your domain name.
- Did you know that domain names are only rented you never actually own them. A .co.uk has to be paid every two years and a .com every year.
- Hosting. This is a computer connected to the internet where your website files will live. Cheap hosting is not good – your website is important and needs to be available 24/7. If you intend to hire a professional to create your website it's best to consult them before obtaining your hosting as features on your website must be compatible with the hosting providers.
- Hosting is paid for every year.
- The above steps can get confusing as the domain name must also be connected to your website hosting - if in doubt consult a professional like Serious Sites.
- Serious Sites provide robust and professional hosting for your website.
Design your website
- Attend a course, use online tutorials or hire a professional like Serious Sites website design, Great Yarmouth.
- Make it easy for people to use - if they find it difficult or confusing they will go somewhere else.
- Make your website unique. Your business is individual and so should your website.
- Use colours and fonts consistently, avoid too many 'flashy' effects as they can become annoying.
- A poorly designed website says as much about your business as a good one.
- For consistency ensure your website design ties in with any existing marketing material.
- If you haven't got time to finish your website then don't start it! a half finished website with missing pages, text or images does not look good to your customers.
- Serious Sites in Great Yarmouth design attractive and easy to use websites as standard.
Create your website pages
- Keep text clear and concise. Whatever you start with aim to cut it down by half – less is more!
- People love images. Make sure image file sizes are not too big - use JPEG, GIF or PNG formats.
- Only use authorised images – taking images from Google may breach copyright.
- Use images that are relevant to your business, don't just use general corporate ones - Serious Sites have put together a guide on the various image formats and how to use them on your website.
- Just by looking at your homepage the visitor should understand; who you are; what you do, how you do it, unique selling points, and basic contact information.
- Create your website to industry standards (W3C), it helps visitors and search engines experience your website the way you intend.
- Serious Sites only use authorised images in there website designs and they always comply to industry standards.
Serious Sites guide on image formats and how to use them on your website.
Search engine optimisation
- Ensure phrases you expect customers to enter into a search engine are present in your web pages.
- First and foremost people read websites not search engines - over stuffing phrases or words into your pages will make it difficult and annoying for people to read and does not always result in better search results.
- Include page titles, descriptions, heading tags, link titles, and image alt tags on every page.
- Try to get other websites to link to yours - ask suppliers, business contacts, etc.
- Search engine optimisation is standard with all Serious Sites websites.
Launch your website
- Upload your website to your host using FTP (file transfer protocol) software – free software is available online.
- Test and proof read your website. Ask people who do not know you business to do the same.
- Ask friends and family to take a look, however, they may not always give an honest answer as they may not want to be negative.
- Keep you website up to date and give customers a reason to bookmark your website and to come back.
For assistance contact us, or why not take a look at what our customers say.
