Archive for November 2011
The top ten fonts for website design might change in order, but for the most part the fonts that make up this list stay the same due to their popularity. In general, the top ten list includes Arial, Frutiger, Futura, Gills Sans, Helvetica, Lucida, Optima, Palatino, Agfa Rotis, and Univers.
The reason these fonts are so popular is because they are simple and easy to read on computer screens with low resolution. As a result, most of the time fonts that are unique, wild, and distinctive are not used on web pages so as not to distract the reader from what is trying to be said and communicated through the font on the page. Since the website uses content to get the point across, it is prudent to use fonts that are easy to read. If you make it difficult for a visitor to read the content, they will more likely leave than put forth the effort. Consider the following points as well when developing your fonts for your website.
- Big Fonts
This is your web page and likely your livelihood, not a term paper or research project that has a defined style. Because of this, you can use big fonts, bold them, make them stick out and attract the reader. You can drive your point home with larger fonts and they also will be significantly easier for your visitor to read. The object of your website is to present information that is easily seen, read, and found by visitors. So, go ahead and increase the font size even in regular text that is not in a heading or title. Many of your visitors will thank you because they will not have to put on their glasses or strain to read the text. Sometimes bigger is better.
- Sans Serif
If you have no idea about fonts, how they translate to your web page, or how they will affect your visitors and ultimately sales, then you should definitely stick with a san serif font. The reason for this is that these fonts are the most legible and provide the best readability for visitors in a low resolution atmosphere. Don’t take risks with your fonts, go generic and use a sans serif font. Your visitors will thank you for it and your sales will not suffer from it.
- Simple is Safe
Again, don’t let yourself get carried away with your fonts and designs. Instead, keep the thought in mind that simple is safe. If you want to be bold and brazen in your website design then don’t take that route with your fonts. Keep it simple, basic, and easy to read, and you will benefit significantly more than if you try to mix it up.
There are many different ways to build a web site, some are easy and some a little more complicated but one thing for sure it’s a lot easier if we can find the best web site design software.
But no matter which web site design software we use there are a number of mistakes we should avoid:
Mistake #1: Using too large of a graphic header on the top of your page.
Mistake #2: Using “washed out” colors that make your web site feel drab and lifeless. Or
using colors that are WAY too bright.
Mistake #3: Using more than four colors (one of those being black!) on your web site.
Mistake #4: Using more than four different TYPES of fonts on the same page.
Mistake #5: Displaying your sales “message” on a dark colored background!
Mistake #6: Using too many “tricked out” scripts at once which causes browser “freeze”
Mistake #7: Cramming way too much content into too small of a space. (Not enough white space.)
Mistake #8: Using “busy” or “watermarked” background patterns.
Mistake #9: Specifying fonts that are TOO SMALL!
(This isn’t so much a design mistake as it is one related to the overall process…)
Mistake #10: Not clearly identifying your offer.
It doesn’t matter if you have the best web site design software on the planet if you make these mistakes your web site is doomed to fail. So which web site design software should we use? That really depends on a number of factors, level of experience, the product you’re promoting, how detailed you want you site.
I don’t promote a product in my articles but since we’re here to talk about the best web site design software, I’ll mention a couple of them that I’ve found beneficial in the past. The first is CoffeeCup HTML editor, this is the first web site design software I ever used, I found it bulky and hard to use, the next was a web site design software called Dreamweaver. Dreamweaver is a decent program but it’s pretty tuff for the beginner to use.
As far as I’m concerned this is the best web site design software there is a product that walks you step-by-step through what to do and how to do it. Every step is clearly laid out and labeled with big, blue numbers and step-by-step screen caps (with support by video as needed).
Saves you tons of time. All you do is click and follow the instructions. You don’t have to try to figure out what’s next. You just click the next icon and follow the steps. The step-by-step screen caps make it much faster and easier to use and follow than programs that are all videos.
Something for you if you’re a beginner or advanced student. Design Dashboard was created for beginners. But there are a few steps for advanced students as well. For example, you get EXCLUSIVE patterns that beat the heck out of the defaults in Photoshop or Elements. Those alone are worth the price.
I hope I’ve made your search for the best web site design software a little easier.
Why does my website need to be on the first page of Google?
If your website isn’t on the first page of Google it is virtually invisible. Only 10% of searchers bother to search beyond the first page of search results. If your site is not on the first few pages, it is unlikely that your web site will ever be seen – except by you and your friends!
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) experts know many of the factors that Google weighs to determine which websites will rank on the first page of search results, but no one knows exactly how much weight Google attaches to each factor. Even the experts get it wrong sometimes, spending vast amounts of money on SEO can be a waste. No one can guarantee you the number 1 spot in Google or any other search engine, and if they do, it will only be for keywords that hardly anyone searches for.
Can you really get your site listed on the first page of Google?
Yes, you can get onto the first page of Google – if you follow basic search engine optimization principles and are prepared to work hard. Getting listed on the first page of Google depends on a number of factors:
Identifying profitable keywords How much competition there is for your chosen keyword The number of pages your website has How much keyword rich content you have How well you use keywords on your site Your site’s domain name How may incoming links you have
Amongst others…
What you need to do to get on the first page of Google and make more sales
Make sure your website is the best for the services and products you offer. If your site has long blocks of unbroken text, is cluttered, difficult to navigate, unattractive or doesn’t have what people are searching for, then even if your site gets to the top of search engine rankings, the increased traffic won’t be much good to you.
Add regular features, articles and special offers, give your visitors good reason to return to your site. Note what your competitors are doing and keep abreast of new trends. Research, update and constantly improve. Make sure you have an opt in box and give your visitors a good reason to give you their email address so that you can keep in touch and bring them back to your site.
Identify the best keywords for your website. Give the search engines good reasons to include your site when they are listing relevant search results. Help your website to be found by including the words people are using to search in your text.
Apply standard website optimization techniques to your website: keyword density, keywords in page titles, descriptions, headings, sub headings, anchor text, alt image tags…
Sprinkle your keywords throughout your website and make sure you use your keywords in context. Mix up your keyword phrases, and make sure your text doesn’t sound stilted or un-natural. The last thing you want to do is get on the first page of Google but lose customers.
Build lots of one way links to your website. Each links counts as a vote in your favour and is a key factor in search engine optimisation.
While SEO is important and worth paying for if you can afford it, there are many things you can do to optimize your website if you can’t afford to pay an expert. Just remember that optimizing your site takes time and you are unlikely to see immediate results unless you have identified a keyword that has little effective competition.
And the bonus is that even if your site never gets to be on the first page of Google, following these steps will benefit both your website and your business.