Choosing a web design company or an individual web designer can be a daunting task. Yes, there are ads claiming that you can get a functional website for $199, but will these websites portray the image you want for your business or organization? Probably not. You have about 7 seconds to attract visitors to your website before they move on to your competitors site. Your website can’t just be functional to keep visitors on your site beyond those precious few seconds, it needs to be user friendly, easy to navigate and aesthetically pleasing. As an experienced web designer I will pay great attention to detail in creating an affordable, proffesional web design that is representative of your business or organization.
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Zeldman delivers four keys to surviving a bad economy for web designers. Jeffrey Zeldman, founding partner of An Event Apart web design conferences and founder of Happy Cog studios, shares his experience surviving bad times based on starting an agency at the dawn of the dot-com bust in a helpful article at 24ways.org/2008/recession-tips-for-web-designers. Zeldman’s four keys to surviving a bad economy for web designers include simple axioms: do good work, charge a fair price, lower your overhead, and be sure you are communicating with your client.

“Although the recession we’re in now may end up making the dot-com bust look like the years of bling and gravy, the bust was rough enough at the time,” said Zeldman. “Bad times are hard on overweight companies and over-leveraged start-ups, but can be kind to freelancers and small agencies. Clients who once had money to burn and big agencies to help them burn it suddenly consider the quality of work more important than the marquee value of the business card. Fancy offices and ten people at every meeting are out. A close relationship with an individual or small team that listens is in.”

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Following WhiteHouse.gov’s lead, USA.gov upgrade adds RSS feeds and widgets

WhiteHouse.gov Web site, the federal government has gone Web 2.0 with is own site.

The General Services Administration announced that it has delivered on a promise to use Web 2.0 technology to give citizens electronic access to government information. The USA.gov Web site now is offering a government wide news feed service and a gallery of gadget applications.

“Using these Web 2.0 tools is a huge opportunity for government to be transparent and save valuable tax dollars,” said Beverly Godwin, director of USA.gov, in a statement. “Tools such as RSS feeds and gadgets allow the public to directly access content from the original source, no matter which Web site they’re on. It reduces duplication across government, because an agency creates content once and makes it available for reuse by others.”

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Palmer Management’s web design division recently developed an online store for Luggage Tags N More, the internet presence for Cranston based engraver Resources Unlimited.

“We needed a site that was easy to navigate, but not boring. We spoke with Palmer Management and felt they would be a great match for us, because they are both creative AND build highly functional sites.” Said Richard Butmarc, Owner.

“We were pumped to be selected to build this e commerce site, because their previous web designer did not get them a single sale from the old website. It was simply too complicated, dark, and barely navigable. We gave Mr. Butmarc a site he could be proud of, and he had his first sale almost immediately.” said Dan Tessier, an executive at Palmer Web Design.

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Firms hoping to expand their online presence should note that an effective press area is one vital facet of website design, an expert has highlighted.

In his Alertbox column, website usability specialist Jakob Nielsen has underlined the importance of including a section dedicated to company news and press releases.

An easily accessed area making it simple for journalists to source stories is seen as vital by Mr Nielsen.

He advised: ‘We strongly recommend that PR areas have links to external sources, including press coverage; journalists often consider articles from independent newspapers and magazines to be much more credible than a company’s own press releases.’

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It`s okay to be okay, as long as you’re working on becoming great. That`s just one of several philosophies Mark Carson, CEO of online toy retailer FatBrainToys shared with attendees today at the Internet Retailer 2009 Web Design Conference in Miami Beach, FL.

Carson, a web developer who ventured out to start up his own online retail business, shared several insights for small merchants with limited budgets about the best ways to approach site design in his presentation: “A Small Retailer Designs a Robust Site on a Budget.” One of those tips: Don`t be afraid to roll out small changes incrementally. Too many retailers wait for everything to be checked off their design to-do list before adding anything, but Carson says that may mean a retailer is sitting on potential added sales from features that could be ready to go sooner. FatBrainToys rolled out several features for the holiday season, and held back on others. As a result, it was able to benefit from elements that were ready and boost sales during the crucial November and December months.

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