Website Development and Design
Website development takes attention to detail, and special website crafting abilities. What does the Jerry Springer Show have in common with your website? No, it’s not that it’s tasteless. But it’s likely that your site was designed by someone who, last year at this time was out of work, sitting at home watching Jerry Springer when they saw an ad that promised a rewarding career in website development– in just 9 months.
That’s why there are so many bad websites out there. Unfortunately, odds are, you’ve probably paid good money for a couple of them, but that’s why you’re here.
There’s no question, creating websites can be easy. Heck, most middle-schoolers know how to throw together a website these days. But effective website development is a completely different story. Intentionally developing a business tool that gets tons of traffic and converts visitors into buyers isn’t so simple. That’s because the creation of an effective website requires a team of skilled specialists.
You can’t expect one guy, with 9 months of training to be a skilled graphic artist, a proficient programmer, a master copy writer and a talented internet marketer. Each of those areas can take years to master. That’s why Red Rocket has a team of specialists. That way, you’re guaranteed that your project is being handled by multiple experts rather than a jack-of-all-trades.
Website development and internet marketing: that’s all we do. If you’re thinking that your last site was designed by a team of people at some fancy ad agency, you’re right. You got a team of people, but not a team of specialists. Yesterday, those same people were planning a corporate event or meeting with the printer for a press check. Guess what our guys were doing? Working on their specialties.
With more than a decade of experience, it’s difficult to spell out all of the details that go into the creation of an effective website. But we can tell you this; we do everything by the numbers. In a business where small details matter, we’ve become accustomed to making lists. Here are just a few of the proprietary lists by which we abide:
- The 106-Point SEO Checklist
- The 100 Universal Principles of Design
- And Jack Trout’s 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding.
To put our experience to work for you, just give us a call and we’ll talk. No pressure. Just straight-shooting. Our office number is 970-674-0079.
From the Lab
Website Design Trends – 1. Responsive Web Design
There are so many different devices on the market today that the latest trend is to make sure your website works with the latest technology. If you have not heard by now, responsive design enables your website to adjust and scale to these formats.
The website may not be exact due to constraints in width and height but your main information will display nicely enabling your clients to view the website content. You want to make sure that your clients are able to view your website on a tablet, phone, or mobile device that enables them to clearly read and navigate through your site easily and effectively.
Advice For a Better Website
Keeping your website navigation to a minimum.
If you have 10 or more links in your navigation it is often confusing to figure out which one to go to. If you keep them to a minimum users will have a much easier time of finding information on your website. Also, adding sub-menus or sub-links is also a good way of organizing your website into blocked out content.
Create a call to action on most pages.
It is important to have your users wanting more information throughout your pages on your website. Having buttons, links, or images will gain the users attention and create flow from one page to the next.
Contact information present at all times
Keeping your phone number, email, or fax numbers in the header and footer of your website is important so there are no guessing games when it comes to how to get in contact with you.
Use simple clean image and graphics.
Images not only support your content but often times tell the entire story of what you want to say without having to say anything.
A mobile friendly website.
Responsive and mobile friendly websites have seen a huge rise in popularity. Making sure your website works on a computer, smart phone or device is important since most folks are using them.
Social Media.
Add another level of information to gain followers and interact with your clients using social media.
Hire Someone who knows how to build your website.
Enough said.
Design Your Website Outside of the Box
How can you make your website stand out from another in your industry? Bright colors and big images? Maybe adding more content so the user will have more to read? Let’s simplify things a bit and take a look at some ways to make your website a little bit different and gain attention for the right reasons.
Add Dimension to Your Website
Sometimes when a website is one-dimensional it can look flat and simple. To add dimension to your website look at adding layers or objects on top of one another to create a more visually appealing design. Placing photographs on top of one another or at an angle can break the single dimension and it will be more likely for the viewer to read additional content.
Place Objects Over the Blocks of Color
Between content sections you may have blocks of color or sections of white space which often can be predictable. To lead your eye from one section to another place an object or image over the two sections creating flow and again creating dimension.
Use Background Colors and Patterns
Another way of looking outside the box in website design is using pattern behind your content to create another level of interest. This breaks the design out of the normal look and a new focus. You can also wrap object around each other which may also create another dimension of appeal.
Adding dimension, overlapping shapes and using background patterns are just a few simple yet effective ways of turning a simple flat website into an outside of the box website.
Writing great website content consistently
You create a great website rich with images and functionality. So how should I create content that is going to gain the readers attention? These tips will help to create consistent content every time.
Create powerful headlines
Most people will decide right away if they want to continue reading your website content by the title alone. Even if your content is great you must grab their attention first. Be short and to the point leaving no doubt what statement you are trying to make.
Also, attention getting introductions following headlines draw the reader into learning more. A title followed by a quick introduction to what point you are trying to make and will gain interest towards reading your information.
Break long content into shorter paragraphs
Many readers lose attention easily and end up skimming. You can easily break long paragraphs and sentences into more manageable shorter ones and lose the boring factor.
Format your content
Whether you are writing a blog post or website content, make sure you use the proper font sizes, weights and bullet points. Titles are usually the largest text on the page followed by subtitles, paragraphs and bullets. Make sure you use consistent formatting on all pages so people know what to look for on your website pages.
Adding images, charts, and graphics will break your content into sections and add supporting detail. For example, If you are talking about birds it would probably be a good thing to add a specific image of a bird next to your text.
Create flow to your content
Making sure each paragraph runs smoothly into section is important to create a flow of information throughout the entire website. Each transition point will keep the reader wanting to go from page to page gaining the most from your website.
Design Trends to Avoid – Not Using Enough White Space
When someone sees your website for the first time you do not want to throw them off by not using enough white space. What is white space? The section of a page left intentionally untouched or unmarked is what we call white space. It helps the viewer clearly see what it is you are trying to express in the content of your website.
Not enough white space makes it difficult for the user to find information on your website. And it can make your company seem unorganized. The best solution for this is to create a website with enough white space to lead the viewer to the most important aspects you want them to see. Clean and simple design is an important strategy in developing your website.
