Portland Web Design, affordable web site design for small business, Portland Oregon

This page is set up to help you with some considerations for web page design, including tips, organization, content and promotion.

In addition, be sure to see a rundown of the web design process, detailing the steps required to get your site live,
for more information please see "the process"

#1. Design and layout
As you browse through the internet looking at pages, be sure to notice the layouts and color combinations that interest you. Color (click for more info) is such a key ingredient in making the site represent the feel you want to convey, from the professional neutrals of a fine suit to denote your real estate company to the fiery colors of the sunset to advertise your homemade salsa, and a huge range in between. We have set up over one hundred different web page examples for our customers to leaf through to help us determine what your style actually is. Or spend some time at Cool Homepages Best Web Designs, they scour the Internet for the "latest style going" in web design and can offer a great place to start for determining color selection, preferences, ect.

One area we stress is to allow moderation in “web gadgets”. Too many animated graphics dancing around, music playing, or pop ups saying “hello” is disturbing to most people. So we design with moderation in mind, a small amount goes a long way in adding spice to the site. It will lend the seasoning a site needs without becoming clumsy to load or distracting from the content.

Many business sites prefer an abundance of blank space or “white space” as it's called, for the clean look it offers, which is not necessarily white but open. It allows a name or image to stand out quickly, without competing for attention. In addition, there are commercial sites that are quite busy and they are also effective, but need to be organized with groupings or boxes so not to look confusing.

When examining different web sites be sure to notice details such as where the navigation is and lines that appeal. The layout styles are generally quite similar but the small details multiplied many times over the site are what make them individual.

The design side of a web site is very subjective, and everybody will have their own idea of what looks good. That’s why we want to get as much constructive communication between us as possible, so the site will end up exactly the way you want.

#2. Content
Your web site should be simple to navigate and easy to find the information people are looking for. A big turn off is having to spend several minutes just trying to figure out how it works, so your top areas of interest need to be absolutely visible. When sites are so enormous that pages are buried within pages, there needs to be a detailed site map or a search tool for those not willing to spend the time browsing to find information.

People love content… photographs, specifications, contact names and written details regarding what you offer and how it will apply to their needs. The more information you can provide people the better, as it builds confidence to do business with you. Not only will it supply the answers folks are looking for, but saves you time in not having to individually tell each person about it.

Most of the actual text content will be supplied by you, so it’s important to plan how you would like the presentation of your information. Determine how many pages it will take to supply enough text to make a good impression and fulfill their questions. In addition to people loving content, search engines love it too. It’s well worth the extra time it takes to write relevant, helpful and original content people can actually use.

If you are interested in a shopping cart (click for more info), there are several low/no cost options for the exchange funds for your service or products. For an excellent option to low cost credit card processing (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express) you might consider our shopping cart teamed with real time card processing through PayQuake, or 2Checkout. Paypal has also become extremely popular for Internet users and it is surprising how many people have an account already set up. Other options that are also available with our shopping cart include, offline credit card processing, mail in, and fax in of payments.

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For print material we recommend and use PrintingForLess.com based in Montana, they are great people and do a fantastic job!

Affordable Web Site Design for Your Small Business
... helping you look good!

Phone: 503.759.4714
Fax: 503.829.9172

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(Erika's Web Design) - Portland, Oregon
Also listed under Portland web design, affordable web design, Christian web design,
E commerce and Wedding web site design, Portland, Oregon