Most people know what a website is, most people have used a website or frequented one daily but what most people do not know, especially if they have just started in the website field, is that there is a difference between a bad website and a good website. A good web design ideally sells and gains you a high volume of visitors. A bad web design will most likely you get you laughed at, repulse possible buyers and avoid people from constantly frequenting your site. We will quickly outline for you the basics of an effective web design.

When you decide on the format of your website, you need to ask yourself the question: what type of website are you creating. If it is a purely informational website, you don’t need a lot of graphics but you will need a nicely presented site for layout and content. If it is site that needs to sell, you need to be aware that generally, less is more. When deciding if is going to be a purely flash designed site or an html based site, you need to remember if you need to be ranked. Sites that are purely made of flash are very difficult to index in google – something you’ll be learning about later down the line.

When it comes to text and font, you should use a font that is easy on the eyes. There is nothing more off-putting then a gross font that takes a long time to read. What might look pretty and pleasant on the website might not mean that practically it will work for your website. Also, make sure that you never use black on white font. It’s difficult to read and isn’t very appealing for your client.

Generally people who visit a website take between two to five seconds to decide whether or not they actually want to continue staying on a website. So when it comes to the actual layout of the site, it should be inviting. Remember to never have a cluttered website. If you have a lot of information, don’t just throw it into one page. Sub divide your content into small manageable pieces of writing. There is nothing more off-putting then reading a ten page article on the web.

Let’s talk quickly about images. Before you start going and picking random images for the internet, you must remember that a lot of the pictures are copyrighted and cannot be used unless bought or if you are given permission by the owner of the picture. When you finally do outsource the right images, make sure that they have been rendered for web quality. High quality images that haven’t been made into web-compatible images can increase the loading time of your website dramatically. For a person who doesn’t spend more then one to three seconds initially on your site, waiting for a page to load may put the person entirely off.

At Atlanta web Design by All Digital Media is renowned for their effective yet beautiful web designs that will shock you – so do what the best in the business do and have an effective yet brilliant website.

Website design, for a complete beginner, might essentially seem confusing and a daunting task. How are you supposed to compete with the millions of wonderfully created websites each advertising and doing their own thing? You can’t even make a dent in the World Wide Web. Well, technically, that isn’t the truth. And as an Atlanta website design expert, I’ve decided to mention five very important things to remember when it comes to website design.

You don’t have to be rich to have a website. People often think that websites can cost into the thousands of dollars, which is true, however, those are for only the website designing firms. However, for someone who has just come into the market and wants either a personal website or a small business website, you won’t initially have thousands of dollars to spend on a completely smashing design. But not to fear. There are a lot of freelance web designers and smaller web design firms that produce the same quality but at affordable prices. Even if you can’t afford to pay someone the basic, there is an abundance of resources for completely free and easy to use website templates that are just waiting to be grabbed by you.

When I buy a website, I buy content with it. If you have decided to pay a professional to create your website, don’t automatically think that you will be getting pre-made content with it. A website designer is there to design your website, not write the content. Your website designer doesn’t know about your business or exactly what sort of content you need, to expect this of him off the bat is very unreasonable. If you can’t write content yourself, then there are plenty of people online who will be able to write content for you at very reasonable prices.

As long as my website is pretty, it will essentially work. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, instead of focusing just on the look of your website, it is important to remember that even if a website looks pretty, it isn’t a good website. Your website needs to be inviting, grabbing and hold interesting content for people to actually stay on your website. If your website is just a bunch of pretty pictures, no-one will stay longer then a few minutes. Essentially, your main aim of your website is to sell and eventually market yourself.

Once I have a website, it will run itself. Most people think that once they have a website up and running, they can now sit back and never look at the website again – of course, your website will work for you now. Essentially, that’s half true. You need to constantly update your website in order to keep in constant contact with your clients or readers. There is nothing more off-putting then a news bulletin on a website from 2007. It is also the same for marketing, make sure you devote enough time each week to actually marketing your website. Unless you go viral – your website won’t gain exposure itself.

So remember these few things and you’ll be set when getting your website designed.

Atlanta Web Design - All Digital Media

As much time as business website owners put into finding a good web designer, it’s amazing how little time gets spent in actually creating the website content - also known as the sales copy. This is the content that will help the customer make a decision whether to take action - or leave.

It’s one of the most important keys of any successful website, and yet it’s often ignored or patched together at the last minute and rushed off to the web designer to add to the site. Unfortunately, this can leave a lasting impression on that company’s target audience.

Look over your website’s front page copy - as this is where most of your visitors will ultimately end up. See if any of the following mistakes appear in your site. You may be surprised at what you learn!

* Welcome to XYZ Company Website - This was the most common headline for sites established back in the mid 90’s, when just having a website showed that you were “ahead of the technology curve”. These days, customers can use the web to comparison shop and do research - much of this research is aimed at which company to do business with.

That said, your very first headline should be one that draws them in and perks up their interest in what you have to offer. A good example is the headline of this article. You were curious enough to click and find out what your website content says about you. Having “Welcome to Our Company” on your front page signifies that your company is “behind the times” and gives the visitor no information to go on about why they should buy from you.

* My, I and We - It’s great that you want to tell customers what your company does. Unfortunately, they don’t really care. They want to know what you can do for them, instead. Rather than focusing on what you can do for them, tailor your website content to emphasize the benefits to the reader.

You can do this as simply as writing sentences that start with things such as “You will learn…”, or “You will find that…” and then ending them with a benefit to the customer, such as “how to improve your marriage in less than a week”, or “you have a brighter, whiter smile”.

Your readers will almost automatically imagine themselves better off as a result of your product or service - and this kind of “written visualization” will help them see that your offer is the logical choice to get the desired result.

* Lack of a Compelling Headline - This ties into point #1 - but a compelling, action-oriented headline gives your customer the impulse to read further. That doesn’t mean you should take your headline to the extreme and dress it up with bright red text, heaps of exclamation marks and CAPITAL LETTERS. Those are major copywriting “turn-offs” for a professional business and they show that you’re unenthusiastic or bored with the product.

You know your product is the best - so why not share that enthusiasm with your reader? What is it that you enjoy or admire about the product? What can it do for the customer? Say it up front in your headline. That’s what urges them to keep reading more.

* Lots of Tech Specs - It’s great that your product is powered by an X250Q fusion engine and 220ZX turbines. Unless your end user is intimately familiar with those products and specs - they’ll simply leave…confused. And they probably won’t come back.

On the other hand, if you tell them that 1. They’ll never have to buy gasoline again and 2. They get the kind of hauling and drive power they need to move those heavy loads - NOW you’ve got their attention! When you write your website content, after everything you believe is a benefit to the consumer, ask yourself, “So what?” Eventually it will boil down to the core reason why the customer needs it - and that’s the gold you’re looking for!

When you keep these copywriting suggestions in mind, you not only help make your website content stronger and more compelling for your reader, but you also instantly improve your product or service’s credibility in their eyes. Give these tips a try and watch your conversions go up! All the best!

About the Author: If you enjoyed reading this article, you can find even more web design tips at http://www.iElectrify.com/resources/. Sherice Jacob holds an M.A. in Media Studies and has played an integral role in creating several successful web businesses - for herself and others. She currently manages a full service web design and internet marketing firm at http://www.iElectrify.com. iElectrify specializes in creating professional, affordable and creative websites that get results. With a strong background in internet marketing and niche marketing, iElectrify.com works with small to medium businesses to help them easily create and manage their own websites.