We are a bunch of tech geeks, coders and designers. Professional Web Design »
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I got a call the other day from a potential client looking for a new web design. I will call the potential client “Carl”. Usually, in the first few minutes of the conversation, I can tell if things will pan out or if they are “shopping around”.
I think Carl set a new record. The third sentence he said was, “How much will that cost?” Third sentence! Not a good sign.
I say “not a good sign” because it seemed that “Carl” was only concerned with price – not results. Now, don’t get me wrong – the price of the web site is certainly important, but a business looking to establish a presence on the Internet should also be asking the web design company about the results they can expect to achieve. That is called “return on investment”.
What would happen if you had a beautiful web site, but it did not show up in the Search Engines? When I say “show up”, I am not talking about showing up if people do a search for the name of your company. You should show up for that. No, I am talking about showing up when people search for terms related to what your company actually does. For example, if you are a doctor in Las Vegas, do you show up when you search for the phrase “doctor Las Vegas“? That is what I mean when I say “show up” in the Search Engines. Showing up for competitive terms is a big measure of how successful your web presence really is.
We have written an article entitled “Professional Web Design“. If you are a business looking to venture into the world of the Internet, take a few minutes and read it over before you make any decisions. Hopefully, it will give you some ideas and educate you a little about what you can expect from a professional web design company so you can make a good choice.
New Corporate Web Site Launch »
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Finally, after weeks of work and tweaking, we have released our new corporate web site! It was a complete redesign from the ground up and, while we are very proud of it, I have no doubt that there will still be some adjustments to be made.
Our company is located in North Carolina and we primarily concentrate on web design and 3D architectural renderings. Although, we do dabble in other areas as well.
If you get a chance, please check it out and give us your feedback. If you see any errors, please share with us – the more eyes, the better 
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CCTech Launches Two New Web Sites »
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Things have been busy at Crystal Coast Technologies. This week we launched two new web sites. So, let me introduce everyone to the newest members of the CCTech family.
Quality Kitchen and Bath
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| They handle everything you need for your kitchen and your bathroom from Granite countertops to custom cabinetry. Clark and his team were great to work with and we are glad to have them on-board. |
Community Lumber and Supply
| Frank and Diane have been in this location since 1955, so you know they must be doing something right. We are very proud that they picked us to create their web presence. |
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We hope that these new web sites will be as successful as the businesses they represent! Take a peek at them and let us know what you think
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If you want to talk to us about what we can do to create a web presence for your business, please contact us and we will set up a consultation at your convenience.
Web Design Basics »
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Professional web design has become vital during recent years. A few years ago, it was estimated that a visitor to a web site took about 8 seconds to decide to stay on that web site or click the “Back” button. That was then, this is now: Your web site has only about 4 seconds to make an impression on the visitor. That is not much time at all! Today, people want instant results. Few people even wait to see the entire web design before making their decision. If your web design does not grab their attention immediately, they won’t stick around. And if your web site does not offer something of benefit, they won’t bookmark it and they won’t come back (more on that later).
So, with that in mind, let’s discuss some practical ways your web design can grab the attention of your visitors. Then, in a future article, we will talk a little about keeping their attention with good web site content. Remember, people spend most of their time on the Internet reading. They read search results, news items, how-to articles and forums. A professional web design company will take this into account. But that is for later. First, we have to keep visitors attention (remember the 4 second rule). Click here to read more »
Website Usability »
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Ok, most of you know that we are involved in a major redesign of our main site. It is loooong overdue and it is painful. I feel like a runner-up in a fight with Mike Tyson (the mid-80s Mike, not the cannibalistic guy with the face tatoo 
, although I am sure the result would be the same with either one). Never-the-less, it MUST be done.
When we originally created the site, we were just happy to have a web presence. Woo hoo – we are online! Ummm…now what? This was the path to the dark side. And so, here we are today, paying for past sins.
Anyway, I thought it might be helpful to outline how our new site will be an improvement and what features we are attempting to incorporate into the new design. It all started with a report from Charlene Li of Forrester Research group that was entitled “Creating Good Online Content Experiences – Usability Beats Unique Content, Hands Down.” Hmmm. The article has this to say, in part:
Unique content does matter, but the basics — such as clear navigation, easy-to-use search, and ads that don’t interfere — matter more.
Content comes in second place? Interesting. Reading further, here were some of the things that polled web users felt were, not just important, but necessary for a website:
- Send me directly to the content I am looking for – 72%
- Don’t put a bunch of ads in my face (certainly no popups) – 75%
- I want a spectacular search feature – 66%
- Don’t send me to a cramped home page (give me some space to breathe) – 60%
- If I choose to register for something, don’t make me jump through hoops to do so (make it easy) – 58%
- I want some content that I cannot get anywhere else – ready for this – 40%
Needless to say, those figures were eye-opening. And I must say that when I visit a site that has followed those rules, my experience is greatly enhanced. So, I decided that, while not scrapping the unique website content idea, we are working on incorporating those features into our new site. As we get further along, I will post some progress updates here.
What do you feel is most important in web design? Are you going through a redesign currently? What are your goals? If you have comments, please share with the rest of the class.
