One crucial factor in successful website optimisation is the quality of the code itself. Many small businesses that employ website developers judge the site on appearance, without giving a minutes thought to how things look behind the scenes. The fact of the matter is, without clean code your search engine rankings are likely to suffer.
It is often the case that smaller companies, eager to save money wherever they can, will opt for a cheaper website from a team of website developers who do not possess the required technical ability, and over compensate with a lot of unnecessary code.
Many of the sites website developers design for start-up companies have been made fool proof so they can be easily administered by business owners who are not particularly internet savvy. However, this fool proofing will often take the form of a large amount of unnecessary code, damaging the potential rankings of the new site, even if all other website optimisation factors are accounted for.
The importance of clean code becomes clear when considering the importance of page load times on search engine rankings. Google recently announced that page load times are going to become a bigger factor in how they decide as website’s rankings, and have even provided some tools in Webmaster tools so that site owners can measure their page load times and take steps to improve them. Although, it is important to consider, many of the do-it-yourself- website platforms which are becoming quite popular at the moment will offer you little or no control over these factors.
The best way to ensure a website which benefits from clean code is to hire the services of an experienced and technically aware team of website developers, who can ensure your site not only looks attractive to visitors, it is also neat and tidy behind the scenes. This will go a long way to ensuring the visibility of your website on the search engines.
If you are looking for a website which not only looks good, but which is also not held back by unnecessary code, contact Designer Websites. Our expert team of website developers have many years of experience producing ecommerce sites and websites for small businesses. Give us a call today!
We have recently finished a redesign for the TimberTech website. We have worked with TimberTech for a number of years and they recently asked us to design a totally new look for their composite decking website, which we of course were happy to do.
When we completed the design concepts for the new website TimberTech were absolutely delighted with our proposed layout/design. Based on these new concepts we developed a new, more modern, more responsive website, which also contains some clever tracking functionality and a very good level of search engine optimisation.
Take a look at TimberTech - Composite Decking Website and see what you think.
We have recently launched a new website for the leading training company Olive Strachan. Olive Strachan are a global training company with headquarters in Manchester; they have a wealth of experience in management training, leadership training, customer services training and other similar business centric disciplines.
We first worked with Olive Strachan back in 2006 when we developed a site called Training Manchester (Training Manchester)for them. This site is still useful if a little dated, but now Olive Strachan wanted something a little more up to date and more in tune with their current business model, particularly as it has changed over the past 5 years. We designed a new website for them and it can be found at Olive Strachan.
We have just launched a new website for Groves Davey who are highly experienced chartered accountants based in Cardiff. Groves Davey provide an all-round accountancy service, as well as a business support service for their clients.
If you are looking for an account with a wealth of experience and a first class team of bookkeepers, tax specialists and business advisers then we highly recommend taking Groves Davey up on their free initial consultation, visit Groves Davey today.
We have just launched a new website for Inklusive who are a specialist ink cartridge replacement company. If you are looking for a ink cartidge replacement then we thoroughly recommend taking a look at this website.
To pair up with the flying shark website we have just launched the flying Nemo ecommerce website. The website is ecommerce but it's pretty basic as far as ecommerce websites go. It uses Paypal in a pretty simple format to sell items, rather than use a traditional shopping cart method and online payment processor, but it does the job nicely, and it looks great we think. The flying nemo website was based on the
flying shark website and the products are from the same supplier. The website is linked to Facebook, Google+, Twitter, You Tube and Paypal.
We were provided with an air swimmer flying Nemo to play with for the week, which was great fun for the gang.
Why not get yourself a flying Nemo from the site:
Air Swimmer Flying Nemo Fish.
We have recently developed a new website for the Return 2 Health Chiropractic Clinic in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan. The clinic is run by 2 female chiropractors who are both very qualified and very experienced. The practice itself looks very modern and comfortable and I can testify that the service is brilliant, having recently used them to help me with a neck injury. We would thoroughly recommend anyone looking for a chiropractor to give these guys a call.
Check out their website here:
Chiropractic Clinic in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan
When you’ve got a new business idea or are determined to lead your existing business into the digital age, it is all too easy to be carried away with the excitement of it all. However, it is so important to take stock when choosing your team of website developers. It is these decisions early on which will make or break your business further down the line.
The best websites are often the most simple in nature. They provide all the information needed, but no more or less. Such websites will usually have a higher conversion rate as there are fewer distractions present for the consumer. The key to a successful team of website developers is creating a site with the right amount of content, is visually appealing and simple to navigate.
Let’s have a look at a few common mistakes website developers often make:
Too much content
A grave error indeed. High quality copy is essential as it helps to build a trusting relationship with your customer base. It is worth paying for the services of a good copywriter and fully briefing them on the ins and outs of your business, helping them to craft the words which carry the sentiment of your business directly to the end user. It is certainly worth paying for a specialist copywriter rather than doing it yourself. No more than 500-600 words should be on any one page; if possible even less. Say what needs to be said and not a word more. Web consumers scroll through pages looking for the information they need, so writing a thesis will be entirely counter-productive.
Confusing navigation
Stick with what works and don’t try to be fancy. Sometimes as website developers it is nice to be able to show off a little and really show what you can do, but website navigation is not the place. Web users are trained to expect dropdown menus at the top of the site which make it simple to manoeuvre through the site. Anything else will likely lead to confusion. Internal links are also important wherever another page is referenced. You should also ensure a Homepage link is always within reach.
TMI lead forms
Nobody wants to spend their time filling out forms; at least we hope not. Too much information (TMI) lead forms should be avoided at all costs. If a customer is filling out a lead form then they are already interested in the services or products your business offers. The last thing your website developers should be doing is reversing this decision with a clunky lead form which takes forever to fill in. This will reverse the trust your great copy, visual appeal and simple navigation managed to create.
All these points are important but ultimately you will need to strike a balance between design, SEO effectiveness and the user experience for whilst too much information can be off-putting, not enough can be detrimental, so a good balance and clear message is required.
To speak to website developers with the knowledge and experience to know exactly what makes your website sell, call Designer Websites. Our website developers have the technical know-how and intricate understanding of search engine optimisation to bring you the traffic and conversion rates your site needs.
It has been well over 2 years since we updated our own website, so back in March we decided to get on with a new design, however we have struggled since then with our schedule to fit in completing the work, anyway now we are finally at a point where our new design can go live. We believe that the new website is more informative as well as being more attractive.
We have purposely designed our website to provide a more tailored and rewarding experience for our users, depending of course on what they are looking for. We acknowledge that no client will want to read the entire site instead they will likely be looking for a specific service relevent to their needs, so for example they might be looking for an ecommerce website designer, so they hit the ecommerce specific page which provides them with a little information followed by 5 case studies to assist in their decision process. Here's how it looks..
We think the design looks great and the examples provide enough information, without going over the top, to assist potential clients with their decision to use us for their next website.
You may have also noticed that we have integrated our promotional products and promotional clothing ecommerce websites, take a look we are very proud of these sites.. Promotional Products and Promotional Clothing
Of course being the website optimisation specialist we have optimised our own website to rank for keyword terms like websites designer, ecommerce websites, website optimisation and many many more. We obviously rank extremely well for local terms like website design cardiff or ecommerce websites Cardiff but now we need to improve our ranking on a national scale.
If you have any opinions we'd love to hear them, but please keep them constructive! Thanks for reading.
We have recently been contracted to create a new website for Cardiff YMCA, which is now live. The YMCA are keen to promote their room and theatre hire facilities in the centre of Cardiff along with all their work with organisations in the community. They are proud to promote the Cardiff YMCA Youth and Community Department and how this responds creatively to the needs of young people in Cardiff. They have an ongoing partnership with Cardiff Young Carers, YMCA Players, YMCA Chess, Lisvane Cricket Club, Martynell Dancers, Y Care International and Lord Mayor's Matinee.
We recommend you take a look especially if you are considering room hire in Cardiff or if you are from Cardiff and have an interest in local community. Take a look at their website.. Cardiff YMCA
In the initial stages of website design designers look into browser consumption and which browsers are in favour with the targeted web users. This helps designers to use the relevant code to ensure their pages look good and function well within each browser’s interface.
It can be a real challenge to keep track of what the browser market is doing. Firefox 5, Chrome 12, and Opera 11.5 were all released last month with more updates expected in the near future. Updates are also hard to track down with many browsers set to auto-update and others set to never update or to receive updates manually. This can make website design harder than ever and a lot of testing at the development stage is often required.
The big news for anyone involved in website design is that July has seen the usage of Google Chrome rise above the 20% mark for the very first time. Microsoft IE is still currently the big daddy of the browser world, but with Google firmly on their heels things could be changing in a big way which will impact website design and development.
This June saw Google Chrome 11 topple Firefox 3.6 to become the world’s second favoured browser. However, the release of Google 12 has caused a split in Google’s user-base and Firefox 4.0 has now regained its second place position.
It’s not all good news for Mozilla though; Firefox experienced a drop of almost 1% in its user-base in June which was three times that of IE and one of the biggest declines Firefox has experienced in its lifetime. The reasons are not clear. Whilst Firefox 4 and 5 have been well received they have not stopped Google’s popularity or progress. Maybe the updates and changes were a little on the radical side for some. Those involved in the website design game have certainly been scratching their heads wondering which browser is going to give Microsoft a run for their money.
When it comes to good website design it pays to keep on top of the latest browser developments including updates and new releases. This will ensure the correct coding and formatting of pages is carried out and that the user experience is uniform across all major browsers including IE, Chrome, Firefox and Opera.
We have just launched a new website for Profix Construction experts in property damage and restoration. Profix Construction Limited specialise in building restoration, refurbishment and damage management. They have a wealth of experience and are the authority on insurance related property repairs in fire damage repairs, water and flood damage repairs, subsidence repairs and insurance claim handling. As a company with a dramatically increasing client base they wanted a professional website that represented their expertise, wealth of experience, high standards, quality and customer service.
The website is located here.. Profix Construction
We have just launched a new website for Howells Solicitors specialising in Compromise Agreements. Howells are an existing customer having previously used Designer Websites for website design and development. The Compromise Agreement website was developed to promote their expertise in the legally binding agreements used by both employers and employees.
The website is located here..Howells Solicitors Compromise Agreements
Google once again shocked the internet world by releasing its +1 button which features as a part of its paid and organic search results. Following in the footsteps of the Facebook Like button, Google’s +1 button is incorporates user sentiment into the search results, but many question the thinking and intent behind this addition to the search results.
How does the Google +1 Button Work?
The thinking is that people respect the opinion of friends and colleagues over and above strangers or marketers – hence word of mouth has worked well for decades. Now Google want to cash in on this trend by allowing your friends and contacts to recommend websites and content in the search results by adding a +1 to that site. So, if you are signed into a Google account you will be able to see all the sites your contacts have +1’d and likewise they will be able to see those sites you +1.
Where does the button feature?
The Google +1 button features on both organic and paid search results. Google have also produced a +1 button that can be placed within your website’s pages which allows visitors to recommend your site without having to leave it. At Designer Websites we have already begun implementing this button into a number of website designs making it much easier for our client’s customers to share products, news and special offers.
How will this effect SEO?
The best indication we have so far as to how this new button effects search results comes from the following statement from Google, “We’ll also start to look at +1’s as one of the many signals we use to determine a page’s relevance and ranking, including social signals from other services. For +1's, as with any new ranking signal, we'll be starting carefully and learning how those signals affect search quality over time.” Those sceptical about this new development cite the opportunity for the button to be manipulated through false Google accounts to distort rankings. No doubt Google have thought hard on this and will be monitoring such behaviour closely.
For additional information and details on Google’s +1 button visit Google’s Webmaster Blog.
We have just launched a new website for a local solicitors in Cardiff who specialise in Whiplash Claims. The website is specifically directed at people who may have been involved in an accident and are looking for assistance from a solicitor.
The website can be found here: Whiplash Claim Solicitor
