What are the Unavoidable Costs in Web Design?

If you are thinking of getting a new web design Santee it is important that you understand the costs that are associated with the project. The amount you stand to spend depends on the type of website you want to build. It is also good to note that ne websites costs more than redesigns. With that out of the way, let’s take a quick look at the unavoidable costs of building a website. They include the following.

Domain name, hosting and SSL

The first thing your web designer Santee will do is register a domain name. This is the address to your website. It is what visitors’ type into their web browsers to get to your website. Domain name registration will cost between $10 and $30. If you plan on purchasing existing domain names you can expect to spend more.

Hosting, on the other hand, is what enables you to store your website files on a remote server. There are so many hosting packages to pick from right from the cheap shared hosting option to the more expensive dedicated hosting option. Hosting on Hostgator starts at $2.75 per month. Most hosting companies also offer free domain registration. Today you also need to think about SSL certificate. This is what makes your website secure. The cost for an SSL certificate on GoDaddy is $69 per year.

Custom design/ templates

With the domain name and hosting you can get your website online. However, for it to be user-friendly you have to work on its design. This is where web design Santee comes in. You can hire a professional to help with the design. The cost of working with a designer starts from $500. Alternatively you can use templates and customize them to your liking. This is a great option if you are using WordPress. Free templates exist but if you need premium theme you will have to spend money. Most of the themes have to be customized further. In this case you have to set a budget of at least $200 for the theme.

Content creation

Your website will not be complete without the content. Content is the soul of your website. Poorly done content will easily frustrate visitors. Content is made up of text and multimedia. With text content you can work with freelancers who are more affordable. For the images you can use stock photos. Refrain from using the free stock photos.

Special features/ plugins

Last but not least, if you need more functionality on your website you have to spend a little bit more. You can hire a web designer Santee to code the features you want or simply install plugins. The cost for the special features will depend on what you need.

Web design Santee

Tips to Help Select the Best Images for Your Website

Your web design Santee will be affected greatly by the type of images you use. Needless to say, a website that has no images will be boring. Visuals make it easy for visitors to consume your content and also make a website more interesting. But which images should you use? In this post we will be discussing your options when searching for the best images for your website.

Value of uniqueness

Stock photos are a favorite choice for web designers Santee when creating a website. This is because it is easy to find the exact photo you need here and also own license for a small fee. The problem is that the images you buy are in no way unique to your website. Other companies can buy and use them on their websites. This is unless you get an exclusive license. If you must use stock photos and want to find one that is unique, you should always avoid picking photos from the first page of results. Most people pick the images in the first few pages. Dig deeper in the search results to find an image that is not overused.

Custom images

If you want to create a website that is unique and professional then you should consider using custom images. In this case you need to hire a professional photographer to take the kind of shots that you need for your website. This option is more expensive and is not for everyone. However, if you can afford the custom shot images then you will be able to really stand out.

Be aware of licensing

Most people don’t consider the license under which images are being offered on stock photo sites. There are three common licenses: rights managed, royalty free and creative commons. Each of these licenses has unique requirements as well as restrictions. Take time to understand how the licenses work. Your web designer Santee can help select the right license.

Image sizes

The size of the images matters a lot. Enlarging tiny images will be tricky whereas using images that are too large will have negative impacts on your website’s performance. You need to determine the size of image that you need before you start shopping. Your images will also need to be prepared for web delivery as well as be optimized for download performance.

Photos of people are tricky to use

While people respond well to pictures of other people on a website, you have to be careful whose face you use on your website. A photo of someone your customers view as shady will hurt your website. Use photos with people who reflect the audiences that will be using your website.

Web design Santee

Considerations when Choosing a Hosting Service

Prior to starting work on your web design Santee you need to pick a domain name and get the right web hosting service. The domain name will be the address to your website whereas the hosting service will be where your website files will be stored. Picking a domain name is easy but it takes a lot of research to find a reliable hosting service. In this post we shall be looking at the crucial things you need to consider when choosing a hosting service.

Pricing

The first thing you need to consider is obviously the price. There are many hosting plans out there. The cheapest one is the shared hosting. The choice you end up making will depend mostly on what your website will need to do as well as your budget. A web designer Santee can help determine the hosting needs of your site and help you pick the most reliable and cost-effective option. The key is to look at what is included in a hosting package rather than picking a package because it is cheap.

Features

When considering the features you have to look at things like bandwidth, disk space, email storage and monthly transfers. You also need to be wary of companies that claim to offer unlimited disk space or bandwidth. Dig deeper to properly understand what they mean by unlimited. The secret to selecting a package that offers everything that you need is to make a list of the features that your website must have then browse through the features offered by a hosting company until you find one that works best for you.

Support

Last but not least you have to think about technical support. The last thing you want is for your website to be offline simply because there is a server-side issue that the hosting company is taking too long to fix. Check the reputation of the hosting company when it comes to customer support. You also need to make sure that the company offers various ways of contacting them. This should include phone, email and live chat. There should also be a support center on the site that has product guides, FAQ, community support and tutorials.

These are the most important things you need to consider when choosing a hosting company. How well your new web design Santee performs will depend on the services offered by the hosting company. The hosting company can determine how fast your website loads and your hosting package can affect your SEO. Seek expert help before making your choice.

Web Design Santee

A Closer Look at the Main Types of Web Hosting Plans

One of the hardest decisions a web designer Santee makes is that of choosing the hosting plan to use. There are so many options out there. If you are not careful you might end up with a plan that limits your website. In this post we shall be discussing the four main types of hosting and their pros and cons.

Shared hosting

This is the most common package with people on a tight budget. It is ideal for small to medium sized business websites and blogs. When getting started with web design Santee this is the package that most people choose because of its affordability. It offers all the essential website functions that you need at a fee that can be as low as $10 per month or even lower. The issue with this package is that your website will be hosted on the same server as other websites from other customers. This means the performances can go down at certain times of day when the shared resources are strained.

Managed hosting

This package is the same as shared hosting with the only advantage being the level of support. The provider will manage your hardware, operating systems and applications. WordPress hosting is the most common form of managed hosting. This option is more expensive than shared hosting but comes with extensive features and better website builder options. It is an ideal option if you want to build a professional website on your own.

Cloud hosting

This is a more reliable option. With cloud hosting your website will be hosted on multiple severs instead of just one. This means your visitors will be directed to the server that is closest to them thus guaranteeing faster loading speeds. The only drawback with this hosting plan is that the cost is extremely high. The option is thus ideal for larger companies.

Virtual Private Servers (VPS)

With this option, the hosting provider will divide one sever into virtual services. Each website is then hosted on an individual virtual server in the same way as dedicated servers. Unlike shared hosting where resources can be strained by other users, you will be assigned specific resources which mean your assigned resources will never be exhausted by other websites. The cost starts at $20 per month.

Dedicated servers

This is the option your web designer Santee will recommend when money is no object and you need an extremely secure website. You get assigned a whole server. You can thus count on fast load times. The option is ideal for large businesses that have high traffic websites. The cost starts at $100 per month.

Your choice of hosting plan will depend on your budget and website needs. Always talk to your web designer for advice when choosing a hosting plan.

Web Designer Santee

Web Designer Santee – Worst Mistakes in Web Design

Hiring a web designer Santee is the obvious first thing you need to do when working on a new website. The problem, however, is that not all web designers will deliver the results you need. The first step you need to take to avoid web design mistakes is to hire a reputable web designer that has lots of experience creating the kind of website you need. Here are additional mistakes you need to avoid when working on your website.

Forcing users to think

This is a very common mistake people make. If your web design Santee is not obvious and self-explanatory then you are forcing users to think. Your website’s architecture and navigation has to be intuitive. Visitors should not struggle to get from point A to B. Your website should use recognizable links and an easy to understand path. As much as being unique is great, you must never create a website that is too unique that visitors have no idea where to go next.

Squandering the patience of users

An important point you have to bear in mind at all times is that your visitors are impatient. What this means is that if your website takes long to load up or your content doesn’t deliver the important points fast you will end up losing visitors to your competition. You have to go right to the point. Visitors want instant gratification. You also need to remove all barriers. Don’t force visitors to subscribe or register in order to access your content.

Adding distracting features 

This is without any doubt the worst mistake you can ever make in web design Santee. Distracting features include popups, auto play videos and audios. These features only succeed in distracting visitors. When the distractions are too much most visitors will simply leave your website and never come back again.

Not making the content easy to scan

Not many people today read through the content. Most people simply scan through. This is why you need to highlight the important points in your content and always make use of subheadings and listings. The idea is to make it easy for visitors to scan through your content without missing the important points.

Not making use of the white spaces

Large blocks of text will make it hard for visitors to understand what you are talking about. Your content should be made of small paragraphs and elements separated with white spaces. White spaces help reduce the cognitive load for the visitors.

Not testing before launching a website

Last but not least you have to test and retest your website before and after launching. It is only by testing that you, the web designer Santee, will be able to find problems and fix them before they affect your business negatively.

Web Designer Santee

Web Design Santee – Facts to Remember About Users before Creating a Website

As you plan your web design Santee, the most important thing you need to do is understand how users think. Remember that you are creating a website for the users and not for yourself. You want a website that will resonate well with your target audience. In this post we will be taking a quick look at the important facts you need to understand about Internet users.

They appreciate quality

The quality of your web content matters the most. As a matter of fact, if your website offers high quality content users are willing to compromise the content with advertisements and the poor design. It is for this reason that some websites with a poor design but great content end up garnering more traffic year after year. Content is important than design. This doesn’t, however, mean that you overlook great design. Your web designer Santee will be happy to let you know that a good web design is what makes it easier for visitors to consume your content.

They want proof

Prior to placing an order users will first do research to learn more about your brand. Most of them will focus on user reviews. To build credibility on your website you need to add testimonials and user reviews. They will help you win the trust of new clients.

They don’t read, they scan

Regardless of how good your content is, users will most of the time not read every word. They scan through the content to find what they are looking for. That is why you need to be straight to the point, add listings and always highlight the important points. It is good to note that most of your audiences will not read your long post to the end. 

They are impatient and crave instant gratification

If your website takes long to load visitors will click away to another website. This is due to the fact that people expect a page to load up in less than three seconds. Your web design Santee must, therefore, be created with speed in mind. Additionally, when reading your content, if you don’t get to the point fast they will leave. Always assume that your visitors are running short on time and drive the point home instantly. The case is the same when it comes to the checkout. The more clicks you require from them the higher the chances they will abandon their cart.

They want to have control

Last but not least, users want to have control. This is why you should endure your web designer Santee doesn’t add auto play videos, audios or popup ads. Users don’t want new windows to popup and they want to be able to go back with just the ‘Back’ button.

This information will come in handy as you work on your next website. Don’t focus too much on creating a website that you want but one that your visitors will love.

Web Design Santee

Key to Creating an Amazing Web Design

When it comes to web design Santee you will always be spoilt for choice. There are so many routes you can take. The problem is that not all options will work great for your type of website. Regardless of whether you are creating a personal or business website, there are a few things you need to do to create an exception web design, and excellent user experience.

Simplicity

For the best user experience you have to focus more on simplicity. While the look and feel of your website is important most visitors are not coming to your website for the aesthetics. They are coming to complete some actions or to get certain information. With that in mind, adding unnecessary elements will only make it harder for your visitors to accomplish their goals. Every experienced web designer Santee will tell you that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Don’t veer off too much from the norm. Your web design should simply make it easy for visitors to consume your content.

Visual hierarchy

This involves the arranging of elements in a way that causes visitors to gravitate naturally towards the most important elements. The objective is to cause users to complete a certain action but in a manner that feels natural and enjoyable. This can be achieved by adjusting the color, position and size of certain design elements.

Navigability

An intuitive navigation is very important in web design Santee. Visitors should not have to guess where to find certain information. Moving from point A to B has to be pain-free. Start by keeping the structure of the primary navigation simple and near the top of the page. You should also include a search box near the top of the page and don’t offer too many navigation options. Links in your content will also make it easier for visitors to navigate your website. The navigation of your website must be kept consistent. Don’t change the location and labels of the navigation.

Consistency

An experienced web designer Santee will make sure that the overall look and feel of your website is consistent across all the pages. This means the color schemes, backgrounds, typefaces and also tone will be the same. This impacts usability and UX positively.

Speed

Last but not least, your website needs to be fast. Pages should load up in less than 3 seconds. Your web elements and hosting package will have the biggest part to play on the speed. Get rid of the clutter and get a reliable hosting service in order for your website to be faster.

These are just a few considerations you need to make when creating a new website. Whenever possible you should always get professional help. There is only so much that you can do with the free website builders.

Web Design Santee

How to Design a Website in 2019

As you work on a web design Santee, the first thing you need to remember is that approximately 38% of visitors will leave your website if they feel the layout is unattractive. You may have the best content but if the layout is poor you will end up never getting the results that you need. A website is more like selling a car. The car may have an incredible engine but if the chassis is hideous buyers will be uninterested. With that in mind, what are some of the things you should do to create an amazing website?

Define the purpose of your website

Without a purpose you will not have a vision and without a vision your goal will not be well defined. Before you jump into designing your website you need first to have a clear purpose. What is it that you want to achieve with your website? People will see through it if your goal is to create a website that raises your own profile or simply makes a profit. You need to have a unique selling point. After explaining your objectives to him, a web designer Santee will be able to help you define the purpose of your website.

Research the latest design trends

Just because you have an amazing web design in mind doesn’t mean it will help you grab the attention of your target audience. What is more is that not every current web design trend will be ideal for your brand. Design is the most important factor of your website. You must always take the time to look at what your competitors are doing. Every sector will have its own unique style so focus more on your industry. Always involve your web designer throughout the research process.

Choose the right platform

There are so many content management systems you can use today. Only stick with the ones that will make it easy for you to update your website on your own. Yes proprietary CMSs might be good but using a proprietary CMS may force you to stick with one web designer Santee forever. Pick a CMS that is easy to use and one that doesn’t limit you