4 Focuses
Business owners and web designers
alike undergo common pitfalls when designing a website, by ignoring one or more of the features that makes a website effective. Overall, there are 4 key qualities that will make or break your site. They must be used in congruence - focusing too much on one while slightly ignoring another can sabotage your website. These 4 focuses for an effective website are:
1. Business Objectives - Does it solve your business goals?
2. Usability - How easy is it for your customers to use? (Google and Craigslist are great examples of this)
3. Functionality of code - Does the code do what it is supposed to?
4. Design aesthetics - How does it look?
Let's take a further look into each of these elements.
1. Business Objectives
This is your priority above all others. A great-looking site that doesn't fit your business objectives is like creating a pretty magnet that doesn't attract metal.
You first must decide "what is the goal of my website?" Is it just to give your company a professional image on the web? Is it to provide a potential customer with enough information to want to contact you? Or is it to directly sell your products with a shopping cart? What is your marketing plan to get customers to your site? If it's SEO (like attracting customers from Google), then your site should be content-heavy. If it's referring them to your site from flyers and business cards, they already have interest and this is your opportunity to close the deal. Who is your target customer? What will they like about your business that they won't like about your competitor's? How will your site convey this? In your industry, what will they make their final decision to buy or contact you from - credibility? Product information? Ease of website use? Everything else will revolve around these business objectives.
2. Usability
Is your website easy for your target customer to use. Let me highlight this again - not easy for you to use, but easy for your target customer to use. If your customer is typically in a low-income level, they may use an outdated browser, a slower connection speed, and an older, smaller computer monitor, so large, flashy web pages with high-resolution images is a bad idea, no matter how nice it looks to you.
Make sure your website follows these general rules for usability:
Navigation bar is consolidated, easy to find, and easy to use
The most important content is visible without scrolling
Contact page link is easily visible from every page
Quick load time, meaning limited image file size and limited flash
Footer with contact information and navigation links
Important information stands out from the rest, either by size, color, placement, or other ways of emphasis
Text is scannable - Highlighted keywords, short paragraphs, bulleted lists, images in between text
3. Functionality of Code
Whether you're having the site coded from scratch or using code-generating software like Dreamweaver, it is critical to make sure the code correctly achieves what it's created for. This does not mean that it just shows the way you intend on your computer browser, but that it displays correctly across all internet browsers, the most popular being Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome. If you're hiring web designers, ensure that each aspect of the site displays and functions properly in each of these browsers, including the site's navigation, table rows and columns, flash, images, and forms. If you have executed everything else correctly, you may sacrifice it all and lose sales simply because an Order link or contact form function works incorrectly in one browser.
4. Design Aesthetics
Because of the amount of detail involved, we've dedicated another article to design aesthetics. Following these specific details will help you create a beautiful website. See the bottom of the article, in the signature box, for more details.
"Don't Judge a Book by its Cover" - A Message Ignored by Website Visitors
Your website visitors have no choice but to judge your business immediately by the look, usability and functionality of your website. Let's be honest - the average customer has little patience, energy and trust when purchasing a product or service from an unknown company, especially when they're comparing it to 5 other companies. What does this mean for your business and its website? You have little time and opportunity to impress them. Gain their trust with a professional, well-designed website, save them time with effective navigation and layout, and save them energy by providing them the exact content they need to make a decision to buy your product or service. Do this and meet all 4 focuses - design aesthetics, usability, functionality, and business objectives.
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_1746917_4.html
Business owners and web designers
alike undergo common pitfalls when designing a website, by ignoring one or more of the features that makes a website effective. Overall, there are 4 key qualities that will make or break your site. They must be used in congruence - focusing too much on one while slightly ignoring another can sabotage your website. These 4 focuses for an effective website are:
1. Business Objectives - Does it solve your business goals?
2. Usability - How easy is it for your customers to use? (Google and Craigslist are great examples of this)
3. Functionality of code - Does the code do what it is supposed to?
4. Design aesthetics - How does it look?
Let's take a further look into each of these elements.
1. Business Objectives
This is your priority above all others. A great-looking site that doesn't fit your business objectives is like creating a pretty magnet that doesn't attract metal.
You first must decide "what is the goal of my website?" Is it just to give your company a professional image on the web? Is it to provide a potential customer with enough information to want to contact you? Or is it to directly sell your products with a shopping cart? What is your marketing plan to get customers to your site? If it's SEO (like attracting customers from Google), then your site should be content-heavy. If it's referring them to your site from flyers and business cards, they already have interest and this is your opportunity to close the deal. Who is your target customer? What will they like about your business that they won't like about your competitor's? How will your site convey this? In your industry, what will they make their final decision to buy or contact you from - credibility? Product information? Ease of website use? Everything else will revolve around these business objectives.
2. Usability
Is your website easy for your target customer to use. Let me highlight this again - not easy for you to use, but easy for your target customer to use. If your customer is typically in a low-income level, they may use an outdated browser, a slower connection speed, and an older, smaller computer monitor, so large, flashy web pages with high-resolution images is a bad idea, no matter how nice it looks to you.
Make sure your website follows these general rules for usability:
Navigation bar is consolidated, easy to find, and easy to use
The most important content is visible without scrolling
Contact page link is easily visible from every page
Quick load time, meaning limited image file size and limited flash
Footer with contact information and navigation links
Important information stands out from the rest, either by size, color, placement, or other ways of emphasis
Text is scannable - Highlighted keywords, short paragraphs, bulleted lists, images in between text
3. Functionality of Code
Whether you're having the site coded from scratch or using code-generating software like Dreamweaver, it is critical to make sure the code correctly achieves what it's created for. This does not mean that it just shows the way you intend on your computer browser, but that it displays correctly across all internet browsers, the most popular being Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome. If you're hiring web designers, ensure that each aspect of the site displays and functions properly in each of these browsers, including the site's navigation, table rows and columns, flash, images, and forms. If you have executed everything else correctly, you may sacrifice it all and lose sales simply because an Order link or contact form function works incorrectly in one browser.
4. Design Aesthetics
Because of the amount of detail involved, we've dedicated another article to design aesthetics. Following these specific details will help you create a beautiful website. See the bottom of the article, in the signature box, for more details.
"Don't Judge a Book by its Cover" - A Message Ignored by Website Visitors
Your website visitors have no choice but to judge your business immediately by the look, usability and functionality of your website. Let's be honest - the average customer has little patience, energy and trust when purchasing a product or service from an unknown company, especially when they're comparing it to 5 other companies. What does this mean for your business and its website? You have little time and opportunity to impress them. Gain their trust with a professional, well-designed website, save them time with effective navigation and layout, and save them energy by providing them the exact content they need to make a decision to buy your product or service. Do this and meet all 4 focuses - design aesthetics, usability, functionality, and business objectives.
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_1746917_4.html
A Multimedia Design Degree
Multimedia design
is when we communicate a concept or information in an interactive way, such as through a website, CD-ROM or a kiosk. Multimedia can also be used in a non-interactive way for mediums like television. There are many different types of media and techniques that can be used in production, and as a multimedia professional you will need to know and understand how to use each of these techniques. You will need to know how to manipulate images and information from a variety of sources including audio, video, still images, animation, physical objects, text, soundtracks and digital data using computer applications and related visual and sound techniques.
An interactive multimedia designer will create work for kiosks, interactive CDs or DVDs, and websites. The overall design output can include things like audio, video, animation and photos, while projects for any type of website will include custom web design. What sets interactive designers apart from non-interactive is that there needs to be a graphical user interface that gives the user the choice of which content they want to access. It is your job to make sure all the media gets tied in together effectively, and to make sure the user is able to navigate through the application and find the information they need.
Non-interactive designers will create work for non-interactive applications such as television and the Internet. Movies, commercials, and websites using Flash intros are all good examples.
As a multimedia designer you will be expected to know how to use a variety of different programs such Adobe Premiere, Macromedia Director, Adobe Photoshop, and sometimes Microsoft PowerPoint for business presentations. On the Internet, it has become popular to use Macromedia Flash to present a multimedia experience in a quick downloading format.
There are a number of jobs available for the graduate of a multimedia program, such as scriptwriter for multimedia, web designer, multimedia producer, computer-based training designer, web script language developer, and more. The types of companies that hire multimedia professionals include corporations, organizations, educational institutions, government agencies, entertainment, and advertising industries. More industries are looking to hire multimedia professionals because multimedia software and hardware is falling in price, and multimedia communications using the web are becoming mainstream.
No matter what specific field you choose, multimedia professionals are expected to be incredibly accurate in their work, leaving little room for error. Being able to see the big picture when working on a project, and being able to get a feel for how a finished piece of work will appear and be used, it a huge asset to most companies. Multimedia professionals are creative and able to communicate with a team, expressing ideas both verbally and visually. Working in teams is not uncommon, but you should also be prepared to work on your own. The multimedia industry is based on deadlines, so you may be expected to work late hours or weekends to finish a project on time.
In order to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the Arts, you might also want to think about getting a degree in an art or graphic design program as well. As mentioned above, there are a number of programs that you will be expected to know. The more programs you know how to use, the more marketable you will be. If your focus is in graphic and web design, you should be able to custom design all of your websites. Using custom web design in your portfolio will also make your more marketable and impress potential employers.
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_1746794_4.html
is when we communicate a concept or information in an interactive way, such as through a website, CD-ROM or a kiosk. Multimedia can also be used in a non-interactive way for mediums like television. There are many different types of media and techniques that can be used in production, and as a multimedia professional you will need to know and understand how to use each of these techniques. You will need to know how to manipulate images and information from a variety of sources including audio, video, still images, animation, physical objects, text, soundtracks and digital data using computer applications and related visual and sound techniques.
An interactive multimedia designer will create work for kiosks, interactive CDs or DVDs, and websites. The overall design output can include things like audio, video, animation and photos, while projects for any type of website will include custom web design. What sets interactive designers apart from non-interactive is that there needs to be a graphical user interface that gives the user the choice of which content they want to access. It is your job to make sure all the media gets tied in together effectively, and to make sure the user is able to navigate through the application and find the information they need.
Non-interactive designers will create work for non-interactive applications such as television and the Internet. Movies, commercials, and websites using Flash intros are all good examples.
As a multimedia designer you will be expected to know how to use a variety of different programs such Adobe Premiere, Macromedia Director, Adobe Photoshop, and sometimes Microsoft PowerPoint for business presentations. On the Internet, it has become popular to use Macromedia Flash to present a multimedia experience in a quick downloading format.
There are a number of jobs available for the graduate of a multimedia program, such as scriptwriter for multimedia, web designer, multimedia producer, computer-based training designer, web script language developer, and more. The types of companies that hire multimedia professionals include corporations, organizations, educational institutions, government agencies, entertainment, and advertising industries. More industries are looking to hire multimedia professionals because multimedia software and hardware is falling in price, and multimedia communications using the web are becoming mainstream.
No matter what specific field you choose, multimedia professionals are expected to be incredibly accurate in their work, leaving little room for error. Being able to see the big picture when working on a project, and being able to get a feel for how a finished piece of work will appear and be used, it a huge asset to most companies. Multimedia professionals are creative and able to communicate with a team, expressing ideas both verbally and visually. Working in teams is not uncommon, but you should also be prepared to work on your own. The multimedia industry is based on deadlines, so you may be expected to work late hours or weekends to finish a project on time.
In order to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the Arts, you might also want to think about getting a degree in an art or graphic design program as well. As mentioned above, there are a number of programs that you will be expected to know. The more programs you know how to use, the more marketable you will be. If your focus is in graphic and web design, you should be able to custom design all of your websites. Using custom web design in your portfolio will also make your more marketable and impress potential employers.
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_1746794_4.html
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