Talken Technology's dot com solutions team offers a personalized approach to Internet services. Our goal is to develop a website that fits your business or organization. We apply our experiences in business and technology to benefit your business. Every website we develop includes expert advice from our team. The following guidelines and suggestions are just an example of the advice we provide for website design.
Color adds life to your web pages. However, too many colors will make your site appear busy. Talken Technology recommends using three or fewer dominant thematic colors. Strong colors should be avoided because they can make text difficult to read. Talken Technology strongly encourages white backgrounds for the majority of the page. The Internet's most successful sites use white backgrounds. The background should show on at least 50 percent of page. Color should be used conservatively to draw attention or create highlight. Regardless of the color selections you make, be consistent. Create a common theme for all of your pages. Font colors should always be in stark contrast to their background. Never use yellow for fonts because it is difficult to read. Black, on the other hand is easy to read, especially on white backgrounds. We strongly recommend no more than three fonts and usually encourage a single font.
Graphics add style and personality to Web pages. Talken Technology maintains a library of royalty-free graphics that you can use in your Web pages. Graphics can also be found on the Internet. However, you should be careful about graphics found on the Web. Some "free clip-art" sites prohibit the use of their graphics in commercial applications. Also, it may be illegal to simply "lift" graphics from other web pages. Copyrights and trademarks may apply.
Graphics help to develop a mood for your Web site. Don't be schizophrenic in the selection of graphics. You may choose a humorous approach or a business-like approach. You may use photographs or you may use cartoons. Regardless of your choice, be consistent in mood and theme.
Graphics should be used only when relevant. While graphics can create interest, gratuitous use of graphics can be detrimental to the effectiveness of your website. Also, graphics take longer to load so they must be worth the delay they create.
Obviously, small graphics will load much more quickly than large graphics. However, sometimes large graphics are required to show detail. If possible, use thumbnails so that the customer has the option of waiting for the large graphic if the detail is important to them.
Animation looks neat but there are several issues that you should be aware of before considering animated graphics for your website. First, consider the source of the graphic. Be certain that you haven't violated anyone's rights to the graphic. Second, animated graphics are considered unprofessional. They are usually found on personal sites rather than business-oriented sites. Why? Animation distracts the customer's eyes from the product or content. The goal of your site is to keep the visitor focused on your product or content. Third, animated graphics take longer to load. Product photos are a much more effective tool for generating sales.
Animated graphics are commonly used in banner ads (i.e. advertising). This makes good sense. If you've placed a banner ad, your goal is to attract the customer's attention to your ad and away from the site that is hosting the ad. However, on your own Web site, animated graphics direct the customer's focus away from your product and, therefore, should be avoided.
Content is the key to a successful website. The content you provide for your website will be more important to the success of your website than anything Talken Technology can do for you. Content should be relevant, blending naturally with the focus of your website, and updated on a regular basis to remain fresh. Content that is unique will differentiate your website from your competitors. Content that is unique, dynamic, and relevant will create return visitors. The depth and breadth of your content will keep them on your site longer. Research suggests that 4 out of 5 visitors to an average website will not return. Retaining visitors may be the biggest challenge to succeeding on the Internet.
Websites come in many styles. Style builds personality. Choose a style that matches your customers' expectations. Visit the competition for additional ideas or inspiration. The website should be consistent with marketing materials, company stationary, and product packaging to create immediate audience recognition. If appropriate, display customer testimonials to gain customer trust.
Avoid long pages that require scrolling. Visitors may miss content that scrolls off of the viewing area. A good rule of thumb is 100 to 500 words per page. We prefer scrolling rather than More or Next buttons but recommend organizing content such that neither is required. Exceptions may occur if the page is something that you expect visitors to print, such as this.
While it is important to differentiate your business from the competition, it is not advisable to break tradition with the remainder of the Internet. Your site should be immediately comfortable to your visitors. They should not be forced to learn new modes of navigation.
Most websites consists of a standard set of pages. The following are examples of pages that you will find on most sites.A final note on style, Talken Technology discourages the use of frames. Frames are often considered unprofessional and can create problems for indexing with search engines.
Search engines are one of the primary ways that Internet users find web sites. Studies show that over 80% of people use search engines to find products and services on the Internet. There are many search engines to choose from but an overwhelming majority of traffic will come from one of the top five to seven search engines. Getting positioned in the top 30 entries is very important to your Internet marketing strategy. A good search engine listing may result in a dramatic increase in traffic to your site.
Search engines have agents that scour the Internet for tags that are then used to provide result sets to Internet users who submit search requests. The search engines use different algorithms for ranking websites and they revise them often. However, the algorithms are always based on at least one of the following indexing sources:Promote your website in other media. Include the web address in business cards, company stationary, marketing materials, product packaging, and anywhere else that potential customers might find it.