Central Mass Web Design Relaunches as inConcert Web Solutions, Inc. with Expanded Capabilities and Services

Worcester, MA, July 03, 2010 --(PR.com)-- entral Mass Web Design, Inc. has relaunched its business as an integrated web development and marketing company with a new name, inConcert Web Solutions, Inc., today announced owner and CEO Matt Ward.

Central Mass Web Design opened its doors in 2002 and had been primarily a web design and hosting company offering ancillary services such as printing and promotional items to enhance client’s marketing programs, according to Ward. Because of the challenges facing businesses today, inConcert’s focus will be to utilize a broad range of integrated web and print based marketing services to drive traffic to their client’s websites, and then convert that traffic into inquiries and sales for their clients.

“Our name change reflects our focus on orchestrating the various aspects of traditional and new media marketing, promotional strategies, and web development to help our clients not just meet, but exceed their marketing and business goals,” said Ward.

For more information about inConcert, visit www.inConcertWeb.com.

For more information, please contact:
Matt Ward, Owner/CEO
P: 978-632-5300 x111
F: 916-560-6181
matt@inConcertWeb.com
Source: http://www.pr.com

Seven key ingredients of effective business/non-profit websites

In today’s Internet-connected world, an organization’s online presence is in many ways even more important than their physical presence. There’s no denying the importance of a physical office to an organization in providing a place to meet, conduct business, and conveying an image. The scope of the physical office is, obviously, limited to those who drive by or enter the premises.

An online presence is generally available for everyone to see. The audience is wider and the attention span is shorter when dealing with an online audience.
In order to attract and maintain interest of customers, employees, and stakeholders and organization such as a business or non-profit organization must have an effective website. While website design is somewhat subjective, the key ingredients of an effective website are not. How well does your organization’s website measure up to the following?

• Attractive design – although general web design is subjective, a special web design prepared for your specific target audience is not. A website owner must understand their target audience and prepare a visual design that’s compelling and draws in interest.

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Design for Startups: The Aesthetics of Web Apps in 6 Questions

Think twice about that huge font and those glassy icons: Look and feel is the first thing we see and notice about most web apps and is often critical to an app's user experience, adoption, and ultimate success.

We chatted with a panel of expert aesthetes in the space, including Spymaster designer Eston Bond, veteran creative director Rich Barrett, designer/developer Warren Benedetto, Mike Rundle of 9rules and Beak fame, and the Paul du Coudray Lowdown, the winner of this year's Rails Rumble appearance category. Here's what they had to say about developers doing double duty as designers, trends they'd like to see disappear, and how aesthetics can help a startup sink or swim.

Is a web app's look and feel critical to its overall success or failure?

"As a designer, I'd love to say it's the most important element," said Benedetto. "Unfortunately, my experience is that the look and feel is often inessential, to the point of being irrelevant. Some of the most successful things I have worked on, in terms of traffic and conversions, have been successful almost in spite of the design, rather than because of the design.

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Web Design Tips: Combining jQuery Effects and Plugins For A Great Marketing Effect

The lightweight (small file size) and concise jQuery library makes it relatively easy to add interactive effects and merchandising to just about any ecommerce website.

In this edition of "Web Design Tips," I will quickly show you how to combine a few jQuery effects and the jCarousel jQuery plugin to create a merchandising section near the top of a sample page. This merchandising section will show four products at a time and slide to the left, revealing additional products every three seconds. When a visitor aims his mouse pointer at one of the product images, the slider will stop and display a brief product description for that item.

Downloading jCarousel

For the example in the video, I used Jan Sorgalla's excellent jCarousel plugin.

To start, I downloaded the most recent version of the plugin (version 0.2.3 at the time) and got a zip file full of great stuff—CSS, a couple of images, and three JavaScript files, including the jQuery library version 1.2.3.

The most recent version of jQuery at the time of writing was version 1.3.2, but unfortunately jCarousel did not function as expected when I tried to use it with the newest jQuery library. This incompatibility is not a huge problem, but can come into play if we were making use of other plugins or effects that specifically relied on the newer version of the jQuery JavaScript library

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Netvibes Creates Web Design Tools for Everyone

Article by Martin Manoy on September 01, 2009 at 03:57:01

Netvibes creates web design tools for everyone For those who wish to customize their web pages but have little design knowledge or training, Netvibes, a popular personal web portal, has just produced Netvibes Theme Publishing, a suite of online tools that makes basic page creation easy.

"Netvibes offers designers the best of all worlds: live drag-and-drop layouts and page publishing, deep built-in content libraries and user interactivity - and now with our new Theme Publishing - complete control over every design aspect of their pages," said Netvibes CEO Freddy Mini.

The new tools are designed to make two essential tasks easy. The first is page creation, which the tools facilitate by allowing for the selection of elements such as colors, layouts and backgrounds with no more than a few clicks. The second is exporting, which is also made simple so that themes designed using the new Netvibes tools can be used on any website of the user''s choice without much effort.

For advanced designers, there is an XML-based theme API that allows users to create animated themes.

As more control is offered to web users via tools like these, web designers must increase their knowledge of the latest services and learn to incorporate them into their set of services. To learn more about the latest developments in web design, speak to an administrator of a web design education program.

Source: http://www.design-training.com/

Web Design Tips: Three Ecommerce Web Design Trends

Like fashion and architecture, web design enjoys an ever changing ebb and flow as trends become popular, become mainstream, and then become passé. To maintain a modern and aesthetically-pleasing look, web designers should examine current trends, estimate their staying power, and implement those techniques that will have the best and longest effects.

In this edition of "Web Design Tips," I am going to share some trends that I think are worth following.

Content Sliders

Content sliders, which are also called slideshows or carousels, have been around in ecommerce for a few years (i.e., box store behemoth Walmart has had a slider on its website since 2007, if memory serves). Content sliders are great for at least three reasons.

First, content sliders provide interaction. Adjusting a slider gives customers an opportunity to interact with the site.

Next, content sliders convey professionalism. As simple as content sliders are to implement, they demonstrate a level technical prowess, which many online shoppers equate with professionalism.

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The Best Way To Launch Your Website

With the exponential growth in the online market, the race among the business companies is getting tougher and tougher. Every one is looking to attract the traffic with their unique features. However, any one will agree that there are certain levels or steps of attraction. Often, something catches your eye at the first sight and you watch it with ardent passion.

The same thing applies to the websites as well. There are sites that are so attractive that you hardly have the ability to avoid them. They will compel you to visit the site. On the other hand, there are sites that look pretty ordinary. Naturally, a person will not visit them anticipating a dull content.

Well, this is the last thing that the owner of the website wants. Certainly, the lack of traffic is synonymous to the death of the website. So, one can clearly see that the web design is a crucial factor as far as the business is concerned.

In fact, success in business relies largely on the impression that you make on the consumer. There are actually, two tiers of impression – one that is made at the first time, and the other that you make after the consumer checks out your service. Though the second one is the long lasting, the first one is important to encourage them to check you out.

This is perhaps enough to explain why companies ranging from the small to medium sized businesses are looking for the web designers. No matter whether you are launching a new business, or you have been around for quite a while, having a good designer to decorate your website is a must for success.

However, only an expert designer is not sufficient to give the site the look that it deserves. The owner should play an important role as well. The web designer will tell from his experience the qualities that you need to upgrade the standard of the quality. But the inputs from the business owner would decide the content and exact nature of the website.

Generally, the owner should contribute a lot in the graphics and layout of the site. Well, you may say that the graphic and web designers are creative enough to create the logo and design the page. Of course, they are. But, it is company and you will understand what suits the theme or motive of your company the most.

Well, nothing can separate web designing and hosting. One is interrelated with the other. After designing the page properly, you should give it to the search engine optimizer. Here also, you have to provide key information on your company. The SEO will highlight the unique features that your company offers.

However, if you are looking for affordable web design, vondix media is the ideal solution. They offer web designing, shopping cart, animation, graphics, SEO, web hosting and promotion – a complete package for your website. They will also create multiple email accounts, logo and will also edit the text of your content.

James Goldsmith is author of this article on Web Design Essex. Find more information about Website Promotion here.

Source: http://www.articledashboard.com/

Why web designers shouldn't work for free

Pros and cons of pro bono, design competitions and spec work

Speculative work. In its strictest interpretation, this refers to any project that's undertaken with no guarantee that you'll be paid. Many web designers think this is a very bad thing indeed, driving down fees, devaluing the profession and encouraging a culture of poor design.

Others think it gives them a way to get their work seen, building their web design portfolio and democratising the design process. To decide which side of the divide you fall, it's best to know exactly what is meant by 'spec work'.

The circumstances in which the description might apply are many – from pitching creative work all the way up to doing freebies for charity. That's quite a range, with some practices more prevalent and less maligned among the anti-spec work lobby than others. Let's take a look at those definitions and the arguments that go with them.

Credentials pitching, the creative equivalent of prepping for a job interview, is on the very bottom rung of the spec work ladder. Sure, it takes time to sort out your portfolio, tailor your presentation and attend a meeting, but few of us would begrudge the fact that a new client might want some face time before actually signing up for your services. This is especially true if you're relatively new to the industry.

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How To Set A Price For Web Design Work

If you're first starting out as a freelance Web Designer, you need to think about how much you're going to charge, and how exactly you'll charge. But before you quote a price, you need to take a few things into consideration.

* What is the project?

Before you evaluate any Web design project, you need to determine what it will entail. Some questions to ask include:

• How many pages will need to be created?
• Are there images and/or design that need to be used, or will they be created as part of the project?
• Is there content for the site, or will that be written by the designer?
• Will there be any Flash, multimedia, programming or scripting required?
  Depending on the answer to those questions may raise your prices.
• When do your clients want the proejct completed.
  

The more urgent a project is, the more you can generally charge. But be sure that if you agree to an accelerated schedule, that it's one you can meet.

• How much experience do you have?
  The more Web design experience you have, the more you can charge, and the more your clients will expect to pay. Keep in mind, however that if you don't have a lot of Flash experience and that's what your clients want, you shouldn't rely on your six years of HTML coding to increase your prices.
• How much long-term maintenance is required?
  Often, when a Web site is commisioned, the clients have not thought beyond just getting the page up on the site. As a Web designer, you should make sure that your clients have maintenance covered. If they expect you or your company to cover it, you should probably get a separate contract for that aspect of the job.
• What is the going rate?
  This can often be difficult to determine. The best way is to talk to other designers in your area. Check out the salary and pricing Web sites in the sidebar for more assistance.
• How much do you want to make?
  The bottom line, after everything else is: how much do you want to make? For example, you might have a project you would love to do, because it would be fun, or interesting or challenging.
  

Your bid might reflect that. On the other hand, you might feel uncomfortable doing a job or would have to do extra work just to complete it, such as if you would have to hire a database programmer to complete the project.

Some General Rules of Thumb

1. Never bid on a project you do not have the resources to complete. If you assume that you'll be able to hire a Perl programmer when you make the bid, chances are you'll be scrambling 2 days before the due date and spend all your fee on a last minute programmer.
2. Get as clear and specific a contract as possible. If the contract is vague, you may find yourself providing more services than you expected.
3. Be careful with pro bono work. There are many good reasons to build Web sites for free, but you should treat your pro bono work as seriously as any other contract. And if you give away your services, your customers might not want to pay after the free period is over, even if they like your quality.
4. Always be honest with your clients. If you say you can meet a deadline, then meet it, and if you can't give them as much warning as you possibly can.
   

By: www.s2ksolutions.com

Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Web Design Tips: jQuery UI Accordion Widget

Adding an interactive accordion widget to your ecommerce site can provide a great design feature that conveys professionalism and makes your content more readable.

There are plenty of instances in website design when we would like to have a lot of content on a page, but, unless you are creating articles or blog posts, too much text causes the pages to scroll, which makes the content less readable.

As an example, imagine that you have a product detail page with a product description, product image, 20 or more customer reviews, washing and care instructions, inventory availability, related products, and shipping options. That can be a lot of text on a page type (i.e. a contact page or even a product detail page) that does not usually scroll well. So how do you manage all of that copy?

One solution is to use what designers call an accordion, which simultaneously shows some bit of content while hiding other content. You can think of it as a vertical tab.

In this edition of "Web Design Tips," I am going to show you how to very quickly implement an accordion widget based on the jQuery library.

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Usable Mobile Web Design- Getting It Right

As the Internet ages, the frequency and types of interaction we have with it continue to develop. One rapid growth area is mobile computing, driven by an increase in low-cost and high-powered mobile technologies. Developing a winning formula for mobile web sites requires a new approach. So how can businesses design usable and accessible mobile web sites?

The Environment

When people use the Internet on a computer or laptop, the outside world tends to disappear - as they get sucked into the large screen. But mobile web is a different story People use their mobile phones in environments that are filled with distractions: walking down the street, or waiting for a bus, for example. In busy environments, complex web sites fail. People need to finish using the site before they walk into the next lamp post. Short, tightly focussed interactions win.

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Outsource Professional Web Design and Development Services

Find Technology Driven Web Developers within your region! .NET, PHP, JAVA, Drupal, Ajax Experts. Save up to 40% to 60% on web Design and Development.

ITMatchOnline outsourcing professional web design and development services which offers affordable website design, web application development, ecommerce online shopping systems.

ITMatchOnline has got an array of outsourcing website design service providers who can develop websites in E-Commerce Products Web Design, Flash Web Design, Pharmaceuticals Website Design, Ecommerce Web Design, Embassy & Consulates Web Design, Fashion Industry Web Design, Telecom Web Design, Foods & Hotels Website Designing, Manufacturers Web Design, Trading website Design, Online printing Web Design and many more based on requirements of clients.

Greatest strength of these outsourcing professional service providers in web design is in their high quality visualization interface design for the web. ITMatchOnline have several highly qualified graphic designers with years of experience developing website interfaces. These service providers hold expertise in using latest tools like create your exclusive designs. They also ensure that their designs represent client's business area perfectly and look compelling to the targeted audience as well.

Some of the main Services Includes:

Web Design and Development, Website Design, Website Development, Web Programming, HTML Coding, HTML Email Design, HTML Email Newsletter, Flash for Websites, Flash Animation, Flash MX,Web Graphic (Banner Ad/Icon),Search Engine Optimization (SEO),Internet Marketing, Online forms & Database Integration, Shopping Cart, Web Hosting, Usability & Interface Design

The entire Web Development cycle employed by ITMatchOnline listed Outsourcing Professional Website Development Service Providers includes the following steps:

• Detailed study to know the actual requirement of the customer and how it can be accomplished
• Conceptualization of design and what all technologies are to be undertaken.
• Classification of the entire process of website making with respect to time period.
• Designing the techniques of what all features are to be included and what all techniques are to be utilized for same are finalized.
• After a design has been finalized comes the process of programming. At this level features like Login and Shopping cart are inculcated.
• After implementation, comes the testing phase. In this the product is tested for its error free working and efficiency.
• The process of web development comes to an end at the stage of maintenance and post implementation. In this the aftermath is taken care of.
  

Our aim is to provide best web-site designing services at the affordable cost.

Getting your website designed from these Outsourcing Website Designing service providers will result into realistic cost saving, quality product delivery, technical excellence, maximum time benefit, exposure to new markets and renewed focus on company strategic plans.

In today's world where presentation drives the popularity, your website can make the whole difference!! Who knows, your nicely designed website can bring you the deal you needed so desperately. So, get your website designed from the outsourcing service providers associated with ITMatchOnline.

Make a visit to http://www.itmatchonline.com , http://www.itmatchonline.org to know more our services at affordable rates.

Post Web Design and Development Projects free at projects@itmatchonline.com and Certified Web Developers contact you directly.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/

7 of The Best Web Development Tutorial Sites on The Web

Today while blogging about the Outlook standards saga, I remembered how I wanted to write a post on the best tutorial sites on web design and development. One of the major reasons why standards aren’t adopted as much as they should have are because of lack of awareness and knowledge. And one of the main reasons why people are beginning to talk a lot more about standards it is because of Tutorial sites like the ones below. Essentially they serve these dual purpose of awareness and knowledge dissemination.

However, beyond being amazingly useful resources these sites also present some good business models for content oriented sites to pursue. So without further adieu, some of the best web design and development tutorial sites:

1. Echoecho

Back in the das when I was a young little boy excited about photoshop brushes and geocities, Echoecho was a frequent haunt. I have a feeling it is not updated anymore, but the site still has its beginner level tutorials and is an excellent resource for people to start off at.

2. W3Schools

W3Schools was the quintessential web designer/ developer resource , the fall back guy, man friday and other such expressions. Over a period it has set the standards regarding web standards and is one of the few completely free resources on the web. It also provides certifications and tests which make it a must visit for any budding designer.

3. Sitepoint

Though I discovered the articles and resources on Sitepoint quite late, I quickly became a huge fan of their content. Sitepoint is a complete web business repository actually and has tutotrials on everything from domains to site business strategy, not to forget scripting and coding. Excellent site.

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10 best practices for horizontal web design

Some people don’t care for rules when it comes to usability, and with good reason. Not all sites are equal, and more importantly, not all audiences are the same. What’s right for a 15 year old might be very wrong for a 70 year old.

Personally I believe in a hybrid approach, whereby some of the fundamentals of web design should be set in stone, and adhered to. After that, it’s a horses for courses approach, where recommendations trump rules, which are in any case there to be challenged. Apart from white text on a white background of course. That would be stupid.

One of those rules that I would have until very recently placed in my top 25 usability fundamentals would be to avoid horizontal scrolling, at all costs. However, there seems to be a growing trend towards horizontal web design.

What we’re talking about here isn’t so much a problem where web designers have opted for fixed width layouts that are too wide for most people’s screens, but where sites have been designed to specifically provide a horizontal experience for users.

Horizontal design can work well in a number of circumstances. I have seen this approach used best for gallery sites, portfolio sites and – occasionally – for ultra niche retailers.

The control issue

There is a problem with horizontal sites, and it's to do with navigation and movement. In the same way that we do not always use the vertical scroller to navigate vertical websites, we do not want to be limited to hovering over fiddly horizontal scrollbars to move through a horizontal website.

For vertical sites I use the spacebar (which acts as ‘page down’) and the arrow keys more than I use the vertical scrollbar. The latter works (poorly) for horizontal sites, but the spacebar is redundant. On top of these controls we use on-page navigation aids to move around websites, and we use the mouse scroller. There are also page up and page down buttons to factor in. And no doubt a bunch of others that I don't personally use.

So at this point it is worth remembering Steve Krug’s ‘Don’t Make Me Think’ mantra. I'm normally forced to think each time I visit a horizontal website. Before figuring out whether or not it is a good idea to reinvent the wheel it is worth considering whether or not you actually need a horizontal website. I mean, do you? Really? While I admire anybody who wants to step away from the flock, the user experience should not be compromised on the basis of simply wanting to do something different.

What can you do?

Many horizontal websites simply rely on the browser’s scroller. In my world this sucks. But what’s worse is to kill the browser’s scroller altogether (as many do), leaving the user to figure out exactly how to use a website. That sucks even more, especially when the navigation controls appear are also AWOL. We're all cognitive misers, remember, and we won't jump through too many hoops.

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Web Design Tips: Cufón is a Fast Font Replacement Solution

An easy-to-implement JavaScript called Cufón allows web designers to quickly embed visually interesting fonts on their web pages, opening up new opportunities for typographical design elements.

Every medium has constraints. For print, there are things like size, ink density, and paper quality. For video, even the best available HDTV only musters up about 2.1 megapixel resolution (HD 1080p is 1920 pixels by 1080 pixels). On the Internet, those constraints can be things like bandwidth, screen size, or—today's topic—fonts.

Every computer has some number of fonts installed. The most common of these are generally referred to as "web safe," meaning you can be pretty sure that if you specify one of these common fonts in your CSS or HTML, the person who visits your page will see the font face you defined. But this can be limiting. What if you want a custom font that almost no one will have installed?

In this "Web Design Tips," I am going to describe one possible way to do font replacement, and show you how to implement it with Cufón.

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How to get your first job in web design

Succeed with a perfect portfolio and polished CV

At this time of year, students across the country are putting the finishing touches to their coursework, hitting the books for the exams ahead and preparing to take the first step into 'the real world'.

We're going to share our experiences on how to move from student life into the world of professional web design.

It's a sad but true fact that many graduates have still not been able to secure positions as web designers.

It's becoming increasingly difficult to leave higher education and gain immediate employment.

Many companies are unwilling to take on graduates because they lack 'real world' experience – but how will you ever get that experience if you can't get a job?

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Web Design Tips: The Laws of Ecommerce Navigation Design

CSS, Flash, jQuery, and an arsenal of other powerful web techniques and technologies have unbound website design, creating the opportunity to develop either exceptional user interfaces or really frustrating ones.

Furthermore, the growth of "cookie-cutter" ecommerce templates (i.e., “insert your logo here”) has quelled site concepts with great potential and made some ecommerce pages as bland and tasteless as a papier-mâché popsicle.

To avoid the pitfalls of a site design that is too confusing, too ugly, or too experimental to be effective, the ecommerce site owner must strike a balance between leading-edge techniques and technologies, effectiveness, and aesthetics. So, in this edition of "Web Design Tips," I'll outline the laws for ecommerce site navigation design to help any ecommerce business.

Shoppers browsing to an ecommerce store don't want to be baffled by navigation. As I implied above, there are a lot of amazing things that you can do with site navigation that you shouldn't.

As a specific example, the agency Publicis & Hal Riney has developed site navigation that responds to gestures captured via web cam. The effect is stunning, and is an excellent way to demonstrate development talent. But as navigation, it is really frustrating. And if an ecommerce site deployed anything like it, I'd bet that they would never make a sale again.

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5 Things to Consider Before Choosing a Website Design Firm

It seems that everybody knows somebody that does “website design”. The term can refer to anyone from a high school student working on the weekends between book reports to an established professional website designer. Because of this, you need to be careful when choosing a website design company . Choosing the wrong individual or firm can mean the difference between having a website that turns out sales and ending up with a website that turns off customers. You need to do your due diligence when you sit down with your designer (or web design firm) to ascertain the level of competency and professionalism they have. It is important that business owners ask the following five questions in your initial conversation with any potential web design firm or individual.

1. Can you show me your work?
   
   Web design companies will tell you that they have done wonderful work for fantastic clients but ask for a list of client names and website addresses. This is the very first thing that you should do and will set the tone for the initial conversation. Reputable firms have a gallery or portfolio of websites that they have designed. This is where the proof is in the pudding. Take the time to actually go to the sites and check them out. Take note on how the site looks, how clear the site’s purpose is and how the site ranks in search engines. It is acceptable to call the design firm’s past clients and ask how their overall experience was during the design process and after the website design services were performed. If you hear a common negative theme, you may want to consider moving on to a different firm but keep in mind that there are two sides to every story and you should check with the firm to verify the validity of the negative comments.
   
   
2. Can you see the project through to completion?
   
   You’ve seen the work, now let’s find out who’s going to be doing it. It is very common for web design firms to use contracted web designers to assist with overflow and you should ask about this up front. You’ll want to know that this firm has the resources to be able to continue the project if that contracted employee leaves. Similarly, This if you choose to go with a self-employed web designer and that person gets sick, leaves or becomes uncooperative, you have nowhere to turn. Web design firms usually have multiple employees and a chain of command to ensure your concerns are addressed. Just be sure to clarify what will happen should the person working on your project become unavailable.
   
   
3. How much will this cost?
   
   Cost is a sensitive issue to any website design firm. It’s not unusual for to pay anywhere from $800-$8,000 for a 20 page static website design, depending on the level of design and functionality included. I always consider the level of work the firm can produce, as well as the relationship
   

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Web Analytics vs. Web Design: Why Can't We All Just Get Along?

One of the many great discussions at last week's JBoye conference in Philadelphia centered on Douglas Bowman leaving Google for Twitter because of his belief that Google has an over-reliance on web analytics data for making design decisions. Bowman was Google's lead designer. For the details, see the article in the May 9 issue of the NY Times.

This is a high-profile standoff around the value of analytics vs. personal opinion when it comes to web design, but the underlying conflict is quite common. Those on the design side may say that Google has gone too far with data, I know for a fact that design decisions being made by "the boss" on a unilateral basis is a common scenario. You know the one I'm talking about....where "the boss" says he wants the color red, even though the professional designers he has hired contend that the color should be blue. And even though there's user experience testing to back the professional designers' decisions.

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How to Choose a Custom Website Design That’s Right for You

As anyone who owns a business knows, having a strong online presence is fundamental to your success. Whether you own a small or mid-size business or manage a large corporation, creating a custom website design to clearly and succinctly represent your company on the web is one of the most important investments you can make. Developing an image, creating a lasting impression, improving your company’s visibility, and implementing a website that will maximize each user’s experience are a few core goals you may want to think about when considering an ecommerce web site design. Here are a few tips to get you started when creating a checklist for your new website:

1. Design a homepage that draws people to your company: Let’s face it - first impressions are everything, and your homepage is the first place your customers will land when they visit your site. Be sure to include your business logo and company name at the top of each page. You will also want to leave room for clearly-labeled menus on the side or top of the page, allowing customers to navigate throughout your site. Use your home page to tell customers what your company offers, but don't crowd the page with too much information - clean and simple layouts are usually the most visually appealing.
2. Let them know who you are: Be sure to include an "About Us" page, which will give you a chance to identify your business and inform your customers what your company is all about, as well as interesting facts and other relevant information. You will also want to mention your company objective here, including a mission statement. Most importantly, add your history, how you got started and how long you have been in business. You’ll also want to include information about the main employees of your company, who they are and what they do.
3. Let them know how to reach you: Be sure to include a "Contact Us" page so that customers can reach you via your preferred mode of communication – clearly list your business name, address, phone number and email address.
4. Make sure each page is easy to use: Although it may seem obvious, it’s important to keep your page layouts clean, concise and to-the-point. We suggest implementing clear fonts, providing useful information (vs. filling up pages with extraneous verbiage), leaving plenty of white space and including links to other pages. Keep your site pages simple yet informative - i.e., easy for people to scan it quickly for information without being bombarded with unnecessary images or content.
5. Create a frequently asked questions (FAQ) page: Customers will scan this page to find answers to common concerns. Make sure this page links to your "Contact Us" page in case customers have more questions.
   

As you can see, whether you’re building your site from scratch or interested in updated your current website, there are many different options available – and many different website design agencies (or interactive advertising agency ) to choose from, which can make your project seem even more overwhelming! At Ecommerce Partners ( http://eCommercePartners.net ), they have taken the guesswork out of your projects, big or small - from basic website designs to custom e-commerce websites, they are a full-service provider of custom website design and web site programming, including:

• Lead Generating
• E-Commerce Website Development
• Logo Design
  
  Custom Website Design and Development, including:
  
  
• Flash Design
• Video Development
• Image Galleries
• Blogs
  

and much more! Although their services are extensive, their focus is clear: with an award-winning staff of professional web designers, Ecommerce Partners will assist you with your request and help make your vision a reality.

Roger Hardaway has expertise in writing about E-Commerce Web sites. His articles specializes on visual design and web design for small and large businesses.

Source : http://www.bestsyndication.com