The purpose of a domain name is similar to that of a street address or telephone number. The domain name directs customers to you on the Internet. The domain by itself is not your email or web address. The domain does form the base from which these addresses are derived.
For example:
Company Name: Bright Designs
Domain Name: brightdesigns.com.au
Web Address: www.brightdesigns.com.au
Email Address: [email protected]
The answer is yes
Once you have decided on the domain name that you want, you need to check if it is available.
Contact Bright Designs websites and we can recommend alternative names that would be suitable for your business.
First step is choosing a colour scheme, 2-3 colours work well.If your company/business has a logo or preferred colours on its stationery that’s a good start.
For those of you starting up, choose two or three complementary colours and stick with them – don’t change colours on every page.
If you’re not sure what colour scheme to choose, surf the internet and find a website that you like.
You can then model your colour scheme on what already exists.
Can’t find a website you really like? Another option is to choose a template.
There are many templates or pre-set designs. These come as part of your web design software (such as Front Page) or you can check out some websites to get a general idea.
These templates can be customised to suit your business. Templates are great, as they allow you to see what your website will look like before you spend any money. One suggestion for using templates – if you are planning to add a lot of your own pictures and photos, stick to a neutral, basic website which doesn’t have any graphics. This way your photos will stand out, instead of competing for attention.
Naturally, your designer is a good source of information. If you are looking for a custom website, he/she can design one for you from scratch, but knowing your preferable colours is a great help.
This is one of the most important issues to consider when designing a website.
You need to ensure your visitors can find what they are looking for easily.
Most websites either display their navigation bar on the left or at the top.
Since most people are used to this type of navigation, it’s best to stick with it.
Please make sure your navigation bar is on every page, as visitors may not arrive at your website via your homepage.
Most Search Engines index your webpages by their content, one of your secondary pages may rank higher than your homepage.
And if you don’t have a navigation bar, your visitors won’t have anywhere else to go.
It also helps to include your navigation bar at the bottom of each page to save your visitors from having to scroll back to the top.
Whilst it is ok to have one or two special effects to jazz up your website, spinning graphics and logos often distract your visitor from the content, not to mention they can take too long to download.
Your visitors may click away even before your spinning logo finishes loading.
If your website contains special effects that require extra software to be downloaded, you can be sure that 99% of people will not bother and will leave your website immediately.
When including pictures and photos, please ensure they are the smallest possible size so that they download quickly.
Make sure your visitors can read the text on the background, ie. no black writing on dark blue background or yellow on white.
Also be careful that your links are visible before and after being visited.
The default for links in most programs is blue (before being visited) and burgundy (after being visited), so if you have a dark background, ensure your links are light.
Stay away from busy backgrounds that distract from the content.
White is still the most popular choice for background and it is so for a reason. It looks clean and is easy to read.
If you wish to add a little more oomph to your website, add colourful headings or pictures
It is a good idea to open links to other websites in a new window.
That way your visitors can easily return to your site when they are finished browsing the external link.
If your website is more than 15 pages long, it is useful to have a site map or a “Search” feature to ensure your visitors can easily find what they’re looking for. A site map is simply a text index of your website.
While it is important that your website looks clean and professional, it is far more important that you concentrate your efforts on the content and promotion.
If you want a professional website, things to stay away from include:
Before you start thinking about what to write on each page of your website, it is important that you create a plan, which lists all the pages you wish to include.
Below is a list of the most commonly used pages:
A Web host is a company that provides server space for your website.
You can think of a web host as a commercial building.
The web host provides space for your website just as a commercial building provides space for your shop or office.
You can build your own building and you can host your own website, but because of the cost and expertise required it is easier to rent the space.
Without a web hosting company, nobody will be able to see your website.
If you consider the benefits, the answer is pretty clear:
The cost of the website generally depends on its functionality. For example an informational website is much cheaper than a website that features an on-line store. There are 3 components to having a website:
Again this depends on the size of your website, but for a 3-10 page basic website the turnaround time is usually up to 7 working days.
Getting your business online is exciting, but can also be overwhelming. I understand how frustrating the whole process can be and we promise to help you along the way. In reality, Bright designs manage most of the steps for you - with your input, of course. Before we talk about the process of getting your website online, it is important you...
This is the first step you must take to establish a successful Bright Designs website.
Webhost is a company that provides server space for your website. You can think of a web host as a commercial building. The web host provides space for your website just as a commercial building provides space for your shop or office. You can build your own building and you can host your own website, but because of the cost and expertise...