Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

A Guide to Web Design and Improved Link Creation


Links, as known to all, are one of the most crucial elements of a web page.  Your web design company must come up with such links that would please your clients and compel them to stick around.  While thinking of the content of a site, we usually focus on the text written on the web pages.  However, the page is likely to contain images as well as other relevant matters included in the web design.

 

Links Support scannability

 

Online visitors are mostly drawn to the pages containing images, this is a proven fact.  Apart from that, links also allegedly attract attention almost immediately as they are well underlined and colored in different hues from the regular text.  You might as well be advised by your web design company to make outstanding links to catch the eyes of the visitors.  But of course, the text content or the web copy must be able to support the scannabiity of the page.  Fortunately, the added links stand out really well and makes the content even more scannable.  Keep in mind that while creating your web design, these links are only effective if they can be related to the real site content and the text linked to it.  

 

Web design Tip #1: Put up Links on the Home Page

 

While designing a web page, you must consider using links on your home page, unless of course your website has just one page.  Not to forget, most of the visitors just scan through the homepage; they usually do not read, so you must make sure that the links provided can speak for themselves and the content inside.  However, you must not fill up a homepage with links and no content.  This will defeat the function of scannability; the links will not stand out in the crowd.  Also, you must not try to act too fancy with the look of the links; that would confuse your readers.  The company designing your web page would be pleased if you decide to use links in the other pages of the site.

 

Web design Tip#2: From General to Specific – Follow the Way

 

While looking for information on the net, visitors usually start in a generalized way and then proceed to more specific search, thus narrowing it down.  Implementing similar logic, treat the links in your site as a funnel.  Start off with a generalized category at the beginning of the page and then narrow it down for your readers and help them search their desired information specifically.

 

Web design Tip#3: Writing and Setting Links

 

Noted herein are some of the helpful tips to assist you in coming up with better and easily accessible links:

 

  • Evaluate your log files to find out the trend; determine what people are looking for in your site while searching.  Make use of the common words to be placed in the links that would connect the user to the other pages of the site.
  • Always verify that your links are actually leading the users to the desired destination and not elsewhere; that could ruin the image of your client and also of your company for misguiding the users.  Once your readers have such an experience, they are unlikely to come back.
  • Your links ought to be written clearly.  If you have linked the site to an e-book, your text should be like “this e-book”.  Also the link should actually open up an e-book and not any other page.
  • While designing a website, do not fiddle with the links.  Links should not be put without any purpose.  Try to use straight forward and relevant links with substantial information.  Remember, your web design company intends to serve the readers and the clients for whom the page has been designed.  Hence, you should put in useful stuff other than junk.
  • Create links that could be incorporated into the content significantly.  It shouldn’t just be a page containing a list of ineffectual links.  Also make sure that all these links contain proper explanations to the content.   If you are offering a link that would lead to some more links, make sure to entail proper explanations of the purpose of doing so.  Such efforts would definitely be appreciated by the users.

 

There you have it!  Here are a few items that you should know while you are having your site designed or choosing proper linking.



Original content by Doug’s Web Design LLC / Whole Integration

San Diego Website Design, Los Angeles Website Design, Orange County Website Design, Murrieta Website Deisgn, Temecula Website Design, Orange county website design companies, OC Website Design Companies, Los Angeles Website Design Companies, San Diego Website Design Companies, Orange County Web Design, Webmaster, Maintenance, Content writing, Color Blind Website Design, Web Design, Corporate web design

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Tuesday, November 11th, 2008

Web Design: Accommodating Color-Blind Browsers


The world is so colorful and we have our eyes to experience and appreciate it.  How would the world be without color?  We take for granted the experiences that we share with color in our day-to-day life existence.

The colors that brighten our experience with things in life too are an important part of web designing.  It enhances and gives an image or a persona a beautiful extension.

But are you aware that there are few browsers that are unable to experience the world of color?  Are you aware that almost 8 percent of the male population and 0.5 percent of the female population have color blindness?

Color blindness is a hereditary disorder due to the abnormality in the cone cells situated in the retina of the eyes.  It means that 1 out of 20 visitors of your website would use the website with some amount of difficulty and probably in some circumstances would not be able to use your website at all.  Considering the importance of color in web design, this section of the population therefore cannot be ignored during web designing.  Imagine the number of visitors that you may lose if colorblind people cannot access it.  It therefore becomes imperative to make your browser “Color-blind friendly.”

You may reap quite a few brownie points as well by making your website Color-blind friendly.  It would make your website look professional that also gives the disabled or impaired equal opportunities to use and enjoy the site.  Consequently, your website will have a good ranking with the search engines as well.

Before making the website Colorblind friendly, it is important for you to first understand color blindness and the types of color vision impairments.

When a light particle, or photon triggers a cell (called a cone) situated in the eye we perceive color.  This cone emits a signal to the brain and informs the brain that it has received a trigger.  Each cone has in them pigments that react to three wavelengths of light, which is red, blue and green.  Normal people can match all the colors in the spectrum by the mixture of these three fundamental color reactors (red, blue and green). We therefore perceive stems the response of the cone cells in the retina to the different compositions of each wavelength of light.  For a color blind person one of these three cone cell color coding structures do not function well.  Almost 99 percent of color blind persons are unable to distinguish between red and green.

Let us now examine the kind of vision that your visitors will have:

1.    Trichromat Vision: It is a normal color vision that can receive triggers for red, blue and green color. Almost 11 out of 12 of your visitors will have such kind of vision.

2.    Anomalous Trichromat Vision: Your visitor having this kind of vision will have the three-color receptor capabilities but may have one of the pigments misaligned.

3.    Protanomaly Vision: Your visitor with this kind of vision will have problems to indentify the color red.

4.    Deuteranomaly Vision (common): Your visitor with this kind of vision will have problems to indentify the color green.

5.    Tritanomaly Vision: Your visitor with this kind of vision will have problems to indentify the color blue.

6.    Dichromat Vision: our visitor with this kind of vision will make use of only 2 of the 3 visual pigments that is red and green where blue would be missing.

7.    Protanopia Vision: Your visitor with this kind of vision will be unable to view the color red.

8.    Deuteranopia Vision: Your visitor with this kind of vision will be unable to view the color green.

9.    Tritanopia Vision: Your visitor with this kind of vision will be unable to view the color blue.

10.  Monochromat Vision: Your visitor with this kind of vision will be able to view only one color

The unpredictability of these vision problems makes it quite difficult to simulate the color blind browser.  It does not, however, mean that these limitations cannot be overcome.

How to design for colorblind browsers?

Designing a website that also encompasses colorblind persons does not mean that you limit the use of colors in your website.  It only means that you need to use the color combinations for the website rather carefully.  We can learn below what color combinations could be avoided or used more effectively.

As a thumb rule you should never use the red and green combination together as it would spell disaster for a color blind person who has Anomalous Trichromat Vision.  Further, this rule also applies for combinations that have variations of green and red i.e. colors such as purple and orange.

Some tips to make your website color blind friendly:

(1)  Once you have established the content of your website, which is very important, it will become easier for you to make such important content color blind friendly.

(2)  Your text, which may be navigational such as your image and button text, menus, headers, and sub-headers, must be clear and high in contrast.  High in contrast means that these items should be in black and white or opposite ends of the color saturation pole.

(3)  You can make use of colors around the page surrounding the main content so that it does not take away from the enhancement of the website and at the same time is color blind friendly.  Also important to remember here is that while making use of large format pieces of copy make use of dark text on a white background.

(4)  In case you are unsure of the contrast, you can use Fireworks or Adobe Photoshop to desaturate your website.  These programs will help you to know if the images continue to have their impact.  Desaturation means where all color is removed from the image.  With desaturation, you will know exactly whether a picture has an impactful contrast and a colorblind person can view it.

(5)  Never use a green text on a yellow background because a dichromatic person when he sees green both red and green cones are activated whereby green objects appear yellow (since red and green make yellow).  Thus if you have a green text on a yellow background a dichromatic person will see all in yellow and will not be able to read it.

(6)  Make use of Vischeck online.  It is a program whereby you may view how a particular design would appear to a colorblind person. This program can be run of your own image files or on a web page.  Further, you can also make use of Website Design Evaluation Tool, which is a free online utility, which allows you to view the page in 3 different ways depending on the visitor’s vision and color disability.

 

Conclusion:

Having considered all of the above you must have noticed how important it is to take into consideration Color-blind browsers while designing your website.  Moreover, it now also forms a large part of the global community.

Original content by Doug’s Web Design LLC / Whole Integration

San Diego Website Design, Los Angeles Website Design, Orange County Website Design, Murrieta Website Deisgn, Temecula Website Design, Orange county website design companies, OC Website Design Companies, Los Angeles Website Design Companies, San Diego Website Design Companies, Orange County Web Design, Webmaster, Maintenance, Content writing, Color Blind Website Design, Web Design, Corporate web design

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Sunday, November 9th, 2008

How to Find a Trusted Graphic Design Company or Web Designer


Are you thinking of putting up a new site from scratch or upgrading you website?  Does this very thought give you sleepless nights?  Are you unable to put your trust in a web design agency or web designer?  Are you afraid of the rates you web designer is going to quote you for that upgrade?

You need not worry; Doug’s Web Design LLC definitely knows that it is not easy to find a trusted graphic designer with whomsoever you can base a long-term design relationship.  Once you commit yourself with one designer or company then it does not take time for them to show their indispensability and up their rates.

Here are few ways how you can go online and find a trustworthy designers.

On the Street

Not literally though.  You will find yourself pleasantly surprised that some of the designers hang around in the most unlikely place.  You can find them in clubs and coffee shops.  Surprised?  Well don’t be because if you hang around you might just hear of a secret design meeting somewhere close by.

Go Hunting

There are many ruthless designers that “sell” their services.  For example, such designers may offer a service free in exchange for a deal.  Armed with such information from the market you could approach another designer and take a bigger discount.  Many honest and trustworthy designers too have to cloak such gimmicks.  We like to use incentives and not gimmicks to entice the client with a good website design.


Be intimate with your designer

Once you know your designer intimately and vice versa you could get all your perky designer demands fulfilled.  Long-term “relationships” definitely can be sustained in this manner.  Once you finally find that team you are in the money.  Often a good design team will help you achieve your goals and take care of loose ends.

 
Money?

Money is often an issue and note that these designers have to earn a living too.  So please note that these are skilled professionals as well and their time is worth every penny when it comes to the outcome of your design and the overall appearance.

Be intuitive

Lastly, the need for building a trustful relationship has to arise from both the parties.  Only then, can the relationship last for long periods of time.  Sometimes listening to what your heart is saying can prove right.  You have to listen to your gut feeling sometimes and give in.  The positive vibes that you may receive may sometimes be the basis of a long and trusting relationship.

Last but not least Referrals!

Referrals can make or break a company and you should request at least five referrals from the company that you are dealing with.  Ask the company to provide these referrals and ask the questions that you need answered.  No design team or graphics designer should even hesitate for one minute to give a number to a happy client.

Above are few tips to ensure success in your endeavor to hire a web designer or web graphics design agency.  There could be still many more.  However, the above tips have really helped us.  So do not fear, go ahead and hire one today!

Original content by Doug’s Web Design LLC / Whole Integration

San Diego Website Design, Los Angeles Website Design, Orange County Website Design, Murrieta Website Deisgn, Temecula Website Design, Orange county website design companies, OC Website Design Companies, Los Angeles Website Design Companies, San Diego Website Design Companies, Orange County Web Design, Webmaster, Maintenance, Content writing

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