It is easy to think that all people view websites in the same manner. It took me awhile to learn that every one is different, and therefore everyone tends to view web pages different as well. Just because I know where to find a link, or the site structure makes sense to me, it may not always make sense to the viewer.

Often times when I am creating a website, I have to stop and think about the viewer who will be looking at the site. It’s important to keep this in mind from the very beginning. Not only in the design aspect, but in terms of the development of the site as well. Think of your potential customers. What are they looking for?

Utilizing drop down menus can be an effective space saving tool. However, be sure that your links are organized correctly. Placing your products under your “About Us” drop down menu, might not be the best thing to do. You want to make things easily accessible to your potential customers. Your products and services should be something that stands out on the page. Don’t just use a textual link, you may want to also enhance the link with an image in the body of the main page as well. From an SEO standpoint, you want to make sure you also provide textual links as well, so that search engines know how to crawl your site.

In a past post, I mentioned things to avoid when developing your web site. You also want to follow those rules as well, to avoid just immediately losing potential customers.

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… C: wait… SD: wait…

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So your business needs a web page, and you think you’re up for the task. Afterall, there are billions of websites on the web, surely you can make one, right? Well, if you can work your way around the internet, odds are, you can also put up a website. There are hosts, which will make it relatively easy for you and you will be given a generic looking template that is used on thousands of various websites. The problem for you is, this is for your business, and you always want to make a good first impression. You only have one shot to make your first impression, and this is why I always advise customers to hire a professional, whether it is Novel Concept Studio or not.

A good web designer is worth their weight in gold. You will save literally hundreds of hours of learning the trade. Not only your own time investment, but if you hire a friend so that you can get it done cheaply, it may cost you later in terms of mistakes and missed opportunities. Also, if the web pages are not put together properly search engines may have difficulty “crawling” your website. Meaning, you won’t be getting good search results.

Your budget will obviously affect your decision. It is important to remember that if your website requires such things as flash, or e-commerce capabilities, you are looking at a very heavy time sink for your developer. If you have absolutely zero money, you may be able to find a quality designer that will share in revenue, but the odds of finding a quality web designer with no money are pretty slim. You will be forced to use a student, or someone very new to the field who needs something to showcase in their own profile. The old adage, “you get what you pay for,” still holds true.

There are literally hundreds of thousands of web designers out there. So how can you tell a good one from a bad one? Well, quite frankly, you want to look at their profile. If, for some reason, they do not have a profile available online, then ask for a few of the URL’s of sites they have developed. Take a look at those sites. Are they professional? Do they have clean layouts, with good color schemes and typography? These are important factors in your decision. Another important factor in your decision should be how well they communicate. I know at Novel Concept Studio we take great pride in responding to our customers immediately. However, there are several developers out there who take several days to respond, if at all! This, in my opinion, is unprofessional and shows you what kind of developer you’re dealing with.

Doing a website yourself will provide you with invaluable experience that can be used time and time again. However, if this is your first website and it relates directly to your business, then I highly recommend hiring a professional.

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It’s a new month, and Novel Concept Studio has been hard at work. We have a few major announcements!

First and foremost, our website at www.novelconceptstudio.com has been COMPLETELY rebuilt. The new website is powered using the Joomla CMS. This gives the company greater flexibility moving forward and is something the company has been working towards for awhile.

The next major announcement is the fact that Novel Concept Studio will be providing web hosting solutions at great prices. This hosting will be backed by Host Gator, a reputable web hosting firm with many awards under their belts. Because of they will be utilizing Host Gator’s servers, Novel Concept Studio can offer the same premium hosting but at a cheaper rate! Great news for anyone or any business in need of a web hosting solution. Details on the web hosting options are being finalized and an official announcement will be coming shortly.

Lastly, and certainly not least, is the announcement of the Online Digital Mall (www.onlinedigitalmall.com). This Online Digital Mall is owned by Novel Concept Studio. It is a social networking site that will bring buyers and sellers together in a unique social atmosphere. Businesses will also be able to create listings on the web site for a reasonable fee of $60. This ad is placed on the site for 6 months and will be in front of people searching for your type of business/product!

We’re proud of what these options bring to the table. All of them should help to enhance our goal of becoming a premier web site management and marketing firm.

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… C: wait… SD: wait…

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As a web development firm, we are often approached by clients with things that they are wanting on their website. They want a large image in the middle, with music playing in the background with a yellow, red, and pink color scheme. They want pop up advertising on every page to “catch customer’s attention.” If customer’s are dead set on this, then we will kindly turn them away. Quite frankly, we don’t want our name being associated with a website that is looked upon as an annoyance.

There are a handful of issues to avoid when developing your website, and we are going to cover some of them here:

Background Music
Believe it or not, not everyone likes your choice of music. This also can contribute to slow load times. This is a big no-no, especially if there is no stop or pause ability.

Pop-ups
No, they don’t grab your customer’s attention. In fact, web surfers can’t close them soon enough and will just immediately leave your site. They may even worry that your site has infected them with spyware. Besides, many pop-up ads are now blocked automatically via their browser or pop up blocking software.

Large Graphics/Images
These image files usually take up a lot of space, and cause slow load times. It is suggested that you break up this image into several smaller images. If you have Photoshop, try the slicing feature.

Frames
There is not a bigger sign of an old web page than one that utilizes frames. These are no longer an acceptable format for your site. Bookmarking/Printing becomes impossible. Not only that, but pages found on the web containing frames, will not contain any navigational features as those are apart of another frame.

Horizontally/Vertically Scrolling Pages
Research has shown that visitors that need to scroll to see your page’s information typically will not view more than what is on display. Avoid long scrolling pages, and break them up into different links if need be.

Unruly Backgrounds
Nice backgrounds may make you stand out, but for all the wrong reasons. You do not want your background overtaking your actual web page.

Poor Navigation
If visitors cannot find the information they are looking for, they will go to another web site to find this information. Make everything clearly defined and easy to find.

Appropriate Color Scheme
I know red, yello, and purple are colors of the rainbow, but that doesn’t mean they will look good on your web page. You need to stick to a color scheme. There are plenty of web sites out there to get ideas from and even tools available to help you choose color schemes.

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An important thing to consider for your web site, is the hosting provider you will be using. There are literally hundreds of thousands of web hosting providers. So, how in the world do you figure out which is best for you?

Free Isn’t Always Better
Lets start off this discussion by discussing free hosting solutions. There are several free hosting providers, but I do not suggest them. I don’t suggest them because they are usually limited in the amount of services they offer. Meaning, they may not allow for .php files, or allow you to set up databases. They also will restrict the disk space you can utilize, and they will also limit the amount of visitors that can view your page (bandwidth). Most often, they also require large banner ads to be displayed on your web site. These appear very unprofessional and not something I suggest.

Please Press 1 For English
Most hosting providers nowadays are in the $4 to $10 a month range. There are several factors you should consider. Number one, do they have a contact phone number? Believe it or not, there are several hosts that don’t even have a number listed. Should you have issues, you need to know someone will be there to take care of them. If they do provide a number, are you speaking with somebody or are you leaving a voicemail. If you leave a voicemail, how long does it take them to respond?

What do they offer?
Another thing to consider are the services they are offering. How much bandwidth are you allowed? What kind of disk space are you given? If you have not registered a domain as of yet, is this something you can do through their site? How many email accounts are you allowed, if any? Do they support common file extensions such as php, asp, or mysql databases? Obviously, the more services they offer the better.

Father Knows Best, and HostGator Delivers
Now having said that, you may be wondering the host I personally recommend. I can say with confidence that HostGator is who I recommend to all of my clients. They have superior customer service, their uptime is nearly 100%, they offer UNLIMITED bandwidth and diskspace! All of this for as low as $5.95 should you go with their three year hosting plan. 

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Choosing a web design company can be a difficult decision. There are several factors that you should consider before choosing your developer. In this post, we will discuss those factors and helpfully help you decide what will work best for you.

Before getting too involved with the process, you first need to consider your budget. If you have a $250 budget, then a professional design firm may not be what you are looking for. You need to keep in mind that web developers have invested thousands of dollars for their education and thousands of hours into learning their craft. Keep in mind that if web development was easy, you’d be doing it yourself.

Once you have your budget range calculated, then you can move on to finding the right developer. Obviously, you want to work with a firm that has established web sites and can provide references upon request.

Another thing to consider is your time line for the project. If you need to have your site built within one month, it is important that you convey that message. A true test I always recommend is to see how long a web development company takes in responding to your inquiries. At Novel Concept Studio, we take great pride in responding to inquiries as quickly as possible. We have found this to be a staple to our success.

If you want a fully developed e-commerce solution, or a web site developed using the Joomla CMS, then it is important that the web development company you are working with also has experience with those aspects.

It is important for your web site to portray a professional appearance. So you also want to keep this in mind when choosing your developer. When you looked at their portfolio, did you feel they presented a professional appearance? Obviously, we would like to think that you would consider Novel Concept Studio for your web development needs. However, should you choose to go with another developer than we wish you the best of luck!

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If you own a business, you really can’t afford not to have a web site. Especially if your business offers products that can be sold online! E-Commerce sites don’t come cheap if you have them professional developed, but it is a one time fee and the rewards are worth it. Even if your site does not offer products, but instead focuses on services, then a basic informative web site is still needed. Below are the top 5 reasons why you should have a web site for your business.

Gives you a professional appearance.
Having a website is a good boost for your image. However, having a poorly developed web site can actually do more harm than good. You need to make sure that your site is professional enough to portray yourself or your business.

Open 24/7!
With a web site, you are essentially open for business 24/7. If you have an online store, there really could not be a bigger benefit. You can accept orders on weekends, holidays, and at any hour of the day.

Exposure
Unlike magazine or newspaper ads that may run for a week, your web site can be used as a promotional tool 365 days a year. This is especially true if you have your web site marketed to display in search results.

Convenience
It is rather convenient to have a website. Customers almost expect this of you, and if you don’t have a web site chances are you won’t be taken as seriously. It is also rather easy to update your web site, versus making changes to catalog’s or brochures which require reprinting and sending.

Expanded Marketplace
Your website could sell products to someone in other countries, not just within your community. This is where true profits can be made.

So with this top 5 list, I must also say…quite frankly, there is NO reason NOT to have a web site.

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