Take a look at the new website, I’m sure you’ll agree it’s a winner… click the image below to view it full size and then please visit our new site: http://www.websitedesign4me.com/
Category Archives: Web Design
Launching a new client website: HR Consulting
I’m very pleased to announce that we launched a new client website yesterday. Click the image below to view the full size. Or visit their website HR Consulting.
As we normally do, we now stay involved with our client for another 30 days during which time they can request small changes to their website at no additional cost. We track visitor stats and submit XML sitemaps and register their site with Google Loca/Places, Bing Webmaster Tools, Google Webmaster Tools and more.
In a month or so we will be able to track their rankings and share their success story with you on our blog.
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Graphics design by Kim
When you sign up to let us build your cutting edge website design, we arrange to have superb graphics created for your website. One of our designers name is Kim and this is her portfolio – click the PDF link below to see it (4.7MB download).
For an example of her work for a client see the image below. The client gave us a photo of an eagle and Kim provided 6 alternatives.
Graphics design of Eagles
NOTE: Download Kim’s CV and contact her if you need custom graphics designs for your business.
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We also offer superb graphics design
When we build a new website, sometimes a client may not have logo, or they may give us poor quality images. For a fee we can improve the images or even have a selection of logos created for you.
Below is an example of a selection of logos. In the bottom left hand corner is the initial sample that the client gave us. We then generated 6 alternatives for them to choose from…
Bottom left is the initial image + 6 alternatives we generated
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View our client’s websites + success stories
Thank you for your interest in our website design service.
In a nutshell we specialise in…
- Building high ranking (SEO) websites… our websites come on the front page for their keywords
- which are fabulously good looking and designed to be productive for visitors
- and are highly social if the client requires it (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr etc.)
- well indexed by search engines (Google + Bing Webmaster Tools, XML Sitemaps, visitors stats)
- all using WordPress (and JQuery if necessary) so that the client can maintain the site after we leave!
A selection of our clients – you are welcome to call them
- http://www.butchery-equipment.co.za (Read their success story)
- http://www.vacuum-pumps.co.za (Read their success story)
Client website designs
Food and drink websites
Engineering, manufacturing or industrial websites
B&B websites
Car rental websites
Health websites
Pre-existing client sites I improved on
NOTE: These are not my designs, I modified what was already there…
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Using the Facebook Like Box iFrame code
This is a description of implementing the Facebook Like Box on a client site…
Here is an example of a client website which uses the Facebook Like Box social plugin. I have pointed out the Like Box plugin with a red arrow…
Facebook "Facepile" social plugin
Visually, it fits in very neatly and I think it adds to the page.
Read: Using the Facebook Like Box iFrame code
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Target the right phrases using the Google AdWords Keyword Tool
Some time ago I helped a customer who had an existing tourism site. We naturally assumed that targetting the geo-location and the word “tourism” would be suffient. So for example “tourism in cape town”.
Later I went to the Google AdWords Keyword External Tool and found out exactly how many people do local and international searches for the two phrases
- “tourism” in cape town
- “accommodation” in cape town
The first one focusses on tourism and seems to be a close match to their actual business… which falls under the category of tourism.
But in fact the second phrase using the word “accommodation” is by far the more popular search term – as you will see below in the screenshots.
read: Target the right phrases using the Google AdSense Keyword Tool
Jewellery website designs
Just in case you get the impression that I only do B&B designs, here is a more recent client who sells custom made and perosnalized jewellery online.
Forget Me Not Jewellery
http://www.forgetmenots.co.za
Forget Me Not Jewellery
This is a fantastic jewellery idea and the feedback from the client and from the visitors to the site is that the design is superb.
Design and SEO considerations:
- In the feature area (the green band across the top) is a lovely image of a “forget me not” flower. That sets the tone for the emotional mood of the site.
- As they say: a picture is worth a thousand words… therefore I show three picture examples of the actual jewellery prominently so that potential custmers can see immediately what kind of jewellery is being described.
- This site has been registered with Google Webmaster Tools, Google Analytics, Bing Webmaster, Yahoo SiteExplorer and other related services.
B&B website designs
In my last post I share two success stories. Today I will share another design which had a very good reception by the customer.
This is Pine Cottage B&B:
http://www.pinecottage.co.za
Pine Cottage B&B
I love the “friendly” nature of this page.
Design and SEO considerations:
- In the feature area (the green band across the top) has three images which show the accommodation clearly. This means customers don’t have to hunt around the site but immediately get to see what they searched for. These images are neatly feathered alongside each other and the blue band draws the visitors eyes to this feature area. The image at the bottom of the page also gives the site an “African” feel.
- On the left in the menu bar area we provide instant and basic information about the B&B. More detailed information is provided on other pages. This overview is provided so that visitors can begin to make a snap decision.
- When the visitor is ready to make an enquiry the email and telephone number is always available in the top-right hand corner of all of the pages.
- The use of three flowers creates a “friendly” atmosphere for the visitor with one of the flowers “peeking out” from behind the feature area.
- This site has been registered with Google Webmaster Tools, Google Analytics, Bing Webmaster, Yahoo SiteExplorer and other related services.
Use a domain name for a broad match
Buying the right domain name is absolutely crucial.
Domain names should include the right “broad match” keyword for your business, otherwise your website may never rank well for that search result.
Web design with CSS-based grid systems
If you are a whiz with CSS and CSS-based grid systems then go ahead and make your own design. But for the rest of us, it’s far easier to take an existing free design and modify it.
What is a CSS-based grid system?
When you look at a website you might see this:
6 tips for great website design
In the customer website – below – take note of 6 things:
1) The logo and the contact details are at the top of the page. It is very important that the contact details can be seen immediately. Research shows that a very small percentage of visitors ever view below the “fold” of the page, so the most important information must be placed at the top of the page.
Keep your contact details easy to find on all pages
Let’s say you have a great website design. You’ve done all the basics well and now the customer has the impulse to place an order with you. Are your contact details right there and unmissable?
In your website design make sure you have a highly visible location for your contact details. I usually reserve the top right hand corner for this purpose. You can see a good example of this below…
Use Google Business Photos to show the inside of your store
This is a brand new product from Google which is not yet available in all countries. It is tremendously exciting in terms of good website design. It’s called Google Business Photos and it’s also linked to Google Maps.
Just as Google Street View shows the outside of your store, Google Business Photos shows the INSIDE of your store in 360 degree imagery.
Use Google Streetview to show your environment
I covered using Google Maps to show your location, but now I’m suggesting something related to that. If you are about to go somewhere that you have never seen before, it would be great to be able to have a peek at the environment before you actually spend the money to go there.
Use Google Maps to show your location
Put yourself in the shoes of a tourist. You are planning to visit a country you have never visited before. Let’s randomly pick Spain. Then you choose a city to visit, such as Barcelona. Now you need to figure out where to stay, based on the nearness to the tourist hot spots you want to visit.
Of course every website tells you they are near the tourist hotspots, but past experience tells you that some of them are lying! How do I describe convincingly that the client really is near the beach, or really is close to all the tourist attractions.
Well… a picture says more than a thousand words can. Using Google Maps you can show your location and also show the route from the airport to your location.
Use free graphic design templates to get you started
I enjoy hearing my client’s oohs and aaah’s when they see their finished site for the first time.
How do I make such lovely designs? I use free templates as a basic starter design. After finding a template that suits the needs of the client, I then edit the graphics and the CSS to match the corporate color scheme. Usually almost every aspect of the template gets changed (rollover images, icons, background colors and shading), but it helps having something well designed to start from.
Use graphics design to convey visual messages
This client runs a bed and breakfast. They have several rooms and they are near to desirable tourism areas.
All of these things must be communicated rapidly to the visitors, because (on average) research shows you have only 15 seconds to get the visitors attention. A picture is worth a thousand words… therefore good graphic design is the key to communicating to visitors.
Contact Website Design Cape Town by email
Website Design Cape Town
This blog is provided as a free service to encourage readers and visitors to create better and more useful websites.
