|
|
|
Boost Credibility and Sales with Quality Web Images
A web site without images is boring and hard to read. Images add
pizzazz to your web site, make a web site more visually
appealing, support your web content, provide a visual
representation of your product, and break up text and make your
web...
Reasons Why Search Engine Optimized Web Design Benefits Business Owners
When a business owner wants to attract more business and ultimately increase revenues, perhaps one of the best ways in which to do so is to construct an operational website for current customers and potential customers alike to browse via the...
Search Engine Optimization of Dynamic Web sites
As websites have grown larger and more complex, companies have begun using dynamic publishing systems to help them manage sites that contain hundreds or thousands of web pages. Popular programs by companies like Vignette, Microsoft, and Broadvision...
"Website Conversion Secrets Revealed"
In my last article entitled "Maximizing The True Value Of Your Traffic" (found at http:/ inyurl.com/2cf84 ), you discovered the importance of generating positive responses from all your visitors. The crux of this strategy resides in the...
Why Does Nobody Visit My Web Site?
Copyright 2005 Peter Dobler
After endless hours of writing, designing and programming your brand new web site is ready for prime time. You tested your shopping cart software and you made sure that all your external affiliate links have your...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Leading Your Web Designer to SEO
Many SEO projects involve taking a site that has already been built and changing or adding optimization elements to help the site rank well in the search engines. For a site that has already been built, the web designer is usually not involved in the process.
However, there are two situations where the designer should be very much involved in the SEO process: when a new site is constructed, or when an old site is being redesigned.
When building a new site, the SEO consultant should be involved as the site concept is being developed. The perspective of the SEO consultant is much different from that of the design team and the site owner. The SEO understands that a balance of keyword phrases and well-written marketing copy is what helps the site attract traffic and convert visitors into buyers. The SEO can also provide advice on the best way to add new content. For example, a site that is about food will draw many visitors if it has a section that offers recipes, and a site about music will see many more visitors if it also offers MP3 music files.
More importantly, the SEO can provide advice on how to best construct the site. SEO consultants understand that sites which have 100% of the content in Flash, or which use frames will pose problems during the optimization process. The consultant will also understand how to overcome some of the SEO limitations that dynamic sites pose.
When the design team is aware and involved in the optimization process from the beginning, a site can be optimized “from the ground up” as it is being built, which will involve less time spent by the SEO consultant later. This can also provide a level of optimization that is often not practical after a site has already been constructed.
When keyword research is completed before the site construction has started, designers can use them when they create new pages and graphics files in order to derive the benefit of keyword-rich file names. e.g., Instead of using words like “logo” and “header,” the designer can choose keywords that are more descriptive. The SEO can also provide a basic Meta tag set which can be used for the site. By including the Meta tags in the site templates, the work of editing each page later can often be avoided.
What about redesigns?
The first and foremost role the SEO has when a site is being redesigned is to ensure that the web designer doesn't change all the page names when performing a site update. Otherwise, when the new site is launched, the traffic to the site may substantially drop off when people click on search engine listings that no longer exist.
To combat this phenomenon, the consultant will advise the designer to re-use the old page names as much as possible. If that's not possible, there are two ways to deal with this problem:
1)A custom 404-error page can be installed to inform the visitor that the page(s) no longer exist and present them with several options to continue into the site.
2)Redirection pages can be set up which use the old page name and an informative message for the visitor. The pages should offer one or more clickable links, and might include a timed-redirect that should be at least 30 seconds before taking the visitor to the page with the new name.
The second option is more desirable, since it allows the search engine to note the change, follow the link to the new page and add it to its index at some later point. And of course, if new pages are added, or the filenames have to change, it provides a chance to use filenames that can be optimized with keyword phrases.
Just as you are unlikely to turn an SEO consultant into a web designer, you can't turn a web designer into an SEO. However, SEO consultants and designers should work together to bring all of their skill sets to the table. The SEO needs to understand that graphic images can be very important in the visual appeal of a well-designed web site, just as the designer needs to understand the benefit of having a home page title that says more than just “Home.”
About the Author
Christian Nielsen is the owner of Nielsen Technical Services , which provides Internet consulting and SEO services, including the optimization of
dynamic database-driven sites, and Blog optimization.
The company maintains a policy of answering questions from clients and potential clients, even if they are just "tire kickers", and has a Blog that can be seen at NielsenTech.Blogger.com which deals with (mostly) search engine related-issues.
|
|
|
|
|
| Web Design - HTML XML - Web Development - Web Site Design |
| Web Design and HTML are all about creating a great Web site. Use Web development and Web site design to build Web sites that customers return to over and ... |
| webdesign.about.com |
|
| Open Source Web Design - Download free web design templates. |
| Free web designs submitted by web designers behind the open source movement. |
| www.oswd.org |
|
| Web Design Library — One-stop resource for web designers |
| Web Design Library offers professional free web design tutorials, articles, news, software reviews, websites showcase, interviews, free web design stuff, ... |
| www.webdesign.org |
|
| Webdesign Professional WebSite Design by Web Design Auckland New ... |
| Web Design build professional websites for clients all around the world. |
| www.webdesign.co.nz |
|
| Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox) |
| The ten most egregious offenses against users. Web design disasters and HTML horrors are legion, though many usability atrocities are less common than they ... |
| www.useit.com |
|
| HTML Help by The Web Design Group |
| HTMLHelp.com is maintained by the Web Design Group to provide Web authoring reference material, tips, and answers to frequently asked questions. |
| www.htmlhelp.com |
|
| Open Web Design - Download Free Web Design Templates |
| Open Web Design is a community of designers and site owners sharing free web design templates as well as web design information. ... |
| www.openwebdesign.org |
|
| Pages tagged with "webdesign" on del.icio.us |
| All items tagged webdesign ??? view popular ... 24 ways to impress your friends with web design · save this. This years advent calendar. ... |
| del.icio.us |
|
| Popular pages tagged with "webdesign" on del.icio.us |
| Popular items tagged webdesign ??? view all ... Open Source Web Design - // Home \\ · save this. first posted by cda on 2004-02-07 ... saved by 11694 people ... |
| del.icio.us |
|
| RAGE Software: More Info on RAGE WebDesign |
| For over 6 years RAGE WebDesign has been the HTML editor and web development tool of choice for thousands of Mac users. There is no other tool available ... |
| www.ragesw.com |
|
| Web Pages That Suck learn usability and good Web design by looking ... |
| Web Pages That Suck -- learn good Web design by looking at bad design. |
| www.webpagesthatsuck.com |
|
| Web Design from Scratch - Free web design course - basics, layout ... |
| A guide on essential skills for designing effective web sites. |
| www.webdesignfromscratch.com |
|
| Current style in web design |
| Current best practice in graphic design for the web, kind of boiled down into an edible form. |
| www.webdesignfromscratch.com |
|
| Web design - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| As the Web and web design progressed, the markup language used to make it, known as Hypertext Mark-up Language or HTML, became more complex and flexible. ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| UK Web Design Association - the Web Standards Organisation in the UK |
| The UK Web Design Association is a not-for-profit organisation - established to encourage and promote industry standards within the British web design ... |
| www.ukwda.org |
|
| WebDesignHelper.co.uk - Web Templates, Vertical & Horizontal Menus ... |
| FREE design help for all. Free page templates, Free vertical & horizontal menus and table templates. Tutorials, Graphics and java plus so much more ! |
| www.webdesignhelper.co.uk |
|
| Web Page Design for Designers |
| Web Page Design for Designers Web Design Archive. The cumulation of over eight years of articles, reviews and information about the graphic design of ... |
| www.wpdfd.com |
|
| WebDesign-L.com |
| Email list for web designers and developers, both professional and amateur. |
| www.webdesign-l.com |
|
| PageResource.com- by The Web Design Resource |
| Design your own web site with HTML! Includes an HTML tutorial, javascript tutorial, tips, tricks, and links to numerous web design resources and other html ... |
| www.pageresource.com |
|
| beautifully : : webdesign - links |
| Beautifully-webdesign.net, annuaire de liens autour du web design, mise ŕ jour quotidienne. |
| www.beautifully-webdesign.net |
|
|