Top 5 Dos and Don’ts of Custom Web Design

There is no industry today that does not make use of website design technology. Some of the chief mediums include websites for businesses, online bank resources, entertainment, movie and sitcom promotions, news media, and personal promotions. A website design displays the best qualities and potential of the individual or business it represents.

While a poorly designed website can repel most visitors, a professional custom web design can open a world of prospects. Some of the major dos and don'ts of custom web design include the following:

1. The Scope of Custom Web Design

Do check the scope of the website you're designing. Keep the target o f your website clear in your mind so the most important elements stand out the most.

Don't design sites that are heavy with content and overcrowded with links. Keep it simple. Get to the point. A successful website is user-friendly and easy to navigate.

2. The Layout for Custom Web Design

Do design a website with specific requirements in mind. Use only necessary graphics or animations as the more you have on the site the longer it will take to download.

Don't think that it takes a lot of imagery or decoration to impress visitors. People want fast information and an easy way to buy the products they need. Extra images, sounds and animations are only a distraction.

3. The Compatibility of Custom Web Design

Do make sure that any functions included in your website are compatible with the current browsers, such as Firefox, Chrome and Internet Explorer.

Don't upload your website to a server if it's not compatible with most browsers. Always check the authenticity of a server before uploading your work.

4. The Documentation of Custom Web Design

Do make sure that your website contains only relevant information that gets to the point and is easily understood. Using specific keywords not only keeps readers focused on the right topics, but it also helps with search engine optimization.

Don't fill your custom web design with useless links and irrelevant text as this will only divert a reader's attention from important topics. Make all of the information you provide simple and professional.

5. Safe and Secure Custom Web Design

Do make sure your website is safe from viruses and hackers. If your website handles sensitive information, such as credit card of social security numbers, it is absolutely crucial to make sure your website is guarded with the latest security protocol.

Don't share the security information of your website with anyone. Your main priority is to protect the sensitive information that your customers have given you in good confidence.

Top 5 Mistakes of Website Design

Huge Mistake #1: Creating a Website with Flash -- Did you know in a recent study, top internet marketers discovered that having a website created with Flash, actually decreased the response from prospects and customers by as much as 370 percent?

Here's why: Your prospects and customers are most likely visiting your website using all types of different computers, connection speeds and internet configuration settings...

What may look great to one visitor may not even appear for another! You could very easily have shelled out hundreds or even thousands of dollars to have a website created using the Flash technology, only to find out that some of your visitors will never see it! (Not to mention the loading times can cause your visitor to close your site, never to return again.)

Huge Mistake #2: The "Internet Catalog" Approach -- You see this everywhere. Good, honest and hardworking businessmen and women get online to sell their products or services, and have a site created for them that contains a link to just about everything they offer on one page. Their thinking goes along the lines of, "...well, I don't want to leave anyone out. If they come to my site, I want to make sure I have what they're looking for..." -- This way of thinking could not be further from the truth.

Here's why: There's an ancient rule that goes back to the very beginning of direct-marketing on the internet, taught by the richest, most legendary and well-respected internet marketers of all time...

"When you give your prospects too many choices, they become confused and aren't sure what to do next. Confused people never buy anything."

Huge Mistake #3: Optimizing Your Sales Site for the Search Engines -- You'll see this taught in nearly every "internet marketing" course, manual or eBook out there... "You must optimize every page of your website for the search engines!" -- In fact, this false teaching is accepted as 'gospel truth' so often that most web designers will offer to do this for you at no, or little extra cost...

What they don't understand is that certain words and phrases must be either re-worded (to make it "keyword rich") or taken out completely, just to be looked upon highly by the mighty search engines -- and this could kill your sales, literally overnight.

Here's why: When you or a hired web designer optimize your sales page (i.e. any web page designed to sell your products and services) to get a higher listing in the search engines, you're going to have to sacrifice the pulling-power of your sales copy (i.e. written sales material) just to get those higher listings. Sure, this can bring you more traffic -- but what good is all the traffic in the world, if your visitors arrive at your website and aren't compelled enough to read why they should order your product?

For years, it has been taught that you should always try to find a "balance" of SEO (Search-Engine-Optimization) mixed with promotional copy designed to sell your products and services...

Wrong Again! -- The truth is that you should never optimize your sales page for the Search Engines. Instead, you should create tiny "entry pages" for each keyword related to your product or service, (highly optimized for the Search Engines) and have them link to your main sales site! (We can show you exactly how to do this quickly and easily and get *massive* targeted traffic from the Search Engines - without ever *touching* your sales site!)

Huge Mistake #4: Having a "Graphics-Based" Website -- Sure, graphics can certainly help us to visualize a particular situation or circumstance, product or service... But did you know that having a graphically-driven website can actually distract your visitor away from your sales message?

After all, your sales message (or "web copy") is The #-1 most important factor in a website that makes money. If your visitors are paying more attention to your "professional graphics" than your sales message... you've just lost another sale.

Here's why: You've got approximately seven seconds from the time your visitor arrives at your site, to the time they decide whether to buy your product, get more information or leave. If you've got a graphically-intensive website, your website will most likely still be loading past your seven-second time limit.

That's a "customer-killer" in and of itself - however, the real reason lies within the fact that the bigger, brighter and more beautiful your graphics are, the more they will distract your visitor from your sales message. And if your visitor is distracted even for one second, it could mean the difference between getting a sale, and losing a customer.

Huge Mistake #5: Designing a Website with Zero Marketing Experience -- Most web designers have no idea how to make money on the internet, with anything other than their web design services. It's not their fault - they simply have no or very little marketing and sales experience. After all, they're just website designers...

However, having your website design by someone with Zero internet marketing experience is like buying a street-car without an engine... it won't go anywhere, and it'll just waste your time and money!