Website Design and Build
At Box Design we believe that for a website to look good, be engaging and have customers returning again and again, the following factors are crucial:
Content vs flashy graphics
The single most important aspect of any website is its content. While groovy graphics can look impressive, search engines (which is how the majority of potential visitors will find you) can only interpret text, not graphics. Therefore we strongly recommend that you aim to make your website as content-rich as possible.
Design
The aesthetics and layout of a website are also critical to its success. First impressions count so it is important to get it right first time. How your website looks and feels will strongly influence whether the visitor stays to browse through the pages and whether they return.
Useability
Attracting visitors to your website is futile if it isn't easy to use. There are a few issues here that need careful consideration:
- Use of a consistent design throughout the website: without this, the visitor will feel lost and may leave due to frustration
- Ease of navigation: studies have shown that if a visitor cannot find the information they want within 3 clicks, impatience and boredom set in
- Download speed: although this ultimately depends on the connection speed of your visitor's internet connection, there are certain techniques that can be employed to reduce the time taken for a web page to appear
Accessibility
Since 1999, UK government legislation has demanded that every new website built has to accommodate all users regardless of their ability or disabilty. All websites developed by Box Design comply with these standards and also conform to guidelines set out by the RNIB and W3C. This ensures that our websites can also be accessed by other devices such as mobile phones, PDAs, webTV etc.
Search Engine Optimisation
SEO is a variety of techniques that can be employed to enable the major search engines (e.g. Google, AltaVista, Teoma) to read the pages of your website easily. The search engines then use this information to compile a list of keywords and phrases against which it will reference your website. When someone using the search engine types in one of your chosen keywords/phrases, a list of websites containing these is displayed. A website that has been optimised will appear highly ranked in these lists and will therefore be easily found.
At Box Design, we take all of the above factors, and more, into account when designing and building websites.
If you are interested and would like to find out more, contact us.
