Archive for March 15, 2009

Using Your Website to Build Your “Brand”

If you are a small business owner, chances are, you will not have a staff available to turn out marketing strategies to make you a household name. Because of this, you need all the help you can get to compete, even on a small level. You may ask yourself, “Is it even possible? How can I make myself known? And how can I do so affordably?”

The answer: Build your brand using your web site.

A brand is what people associate with you; it is your identity–and, of course, you want it to be one that inspires confidence and satisfaction. If you “brand” yourself correctly, customers will be able to remember your company name and want to continue using it. And, we’re not just talking about a catchy slogan. A brand is more than that: it is who you are and what your company represents. So, how do you build the perfect brand through your website.

1. Make your website uniformed and complete. You need to present something professional, easy to read. Stay away from flashy borders and odd fonts. This is a business; this is what people will associate with you.

2. Get yourself a domain name that is the same as your brand. This will only enforce your website to the customers and they will remember where to go when they need you. Do not try to think of something too “cute” or too long. Keep your name to the point and easy to type.

3. Use your website to send out a newsletter. This will continue to reinforce your brand in the minds of your customers. You can include events, offers and more–but, also, keep reminding them of who you are and why they shop with you.

4. Include a “Thank You” page on your website, one that tells visitors that you appreciate their input and purchases. This can help customers associate genuine interest with your brand. You have taken the time to thank them, to show your concern for them. A brand that does that is one people are likely to return to.

5. Provide yours customers with a way to reach you. There are always questions to be asked and suggestions to be made. If your website allows customers to have a say in what happens, then they will be more inclined to return. Your brand needs to say that you care about their questions and concerns. Of course, this means responding to those questions; don’t forget that. Allowing them to ask is wonderful but forgetting to answer the question won’t inspire confidence. It will only make a customer feel ignored. Your brand should be one that takes time for its consumers.

6. Get your logo out there. Sites are available online that allow you to post articles about your company. You can publish information about who you are and what you stand for. This will allow you to bring your brand to a wider clientele.

With these tips, you can use your website to create a brand that customers will be happy to continue using.

Web Site Design

The whole world has moved from the printed page to a page suspended in cyberspace. Websites are the rage in every sphere of life.

For the creation of a website, you have two options: you can either recruit a professional to design the site or you could gather up courage and add a dash of personal creativity to design your own site.

To execute a Website design, one would need basic tools like a computer, an internet connection, web page construction tools such as HTML editor, and a host on the World Wide Web to publish your page.

There are three keys to a website: clear goals, design, and content. The website must serve its purpose and aid personal development, or fulfill business, social, cultural, humanitarian, or business objectives.

Define clearly what the purpose of the website is, how many pages the site will have, what kind of content will it provide, how many pictures and advertisements it will include, and will it have e-commerce of any kind? What kind of investment will it involve? Is the site for personal satisfaction or does it have a business angle?

While designing a website you need to keep in mind a few simple ground rules. Ensure that the resolutions of the web pages are either 800 x 600 or 1024 x 768, the lowest being 640 x 480. Keep in mind the convenience of the user. The page size should not require horizontal scrolling or “page down” for more than three screens. In fact, modern design demands that each page should be within one screen, as anything more means you lose viewers unless, the content grips attention.

The layout must be user-friendly and have spaces, no crowding, easily readable type, and images that are not fussy, garish, or blinking. To prevent delays in page loading, a page must not exceed 50K. A balance between text and images must be maintained, and no image should be too heavy. Even if flash is in vogue, you must also use HTML so that non-techies can make use of the site.

Choose a reliable web host, ensure that the specifications of the web server can support the bandwidth you need, and use an operating system that is universally used. Test the pages to see that they open in Windows as well as Mac.

At all costs, avoid blinking text, animated GIF s, or loud sound, anything that is fussy and distracting. Think about users with slow internet connections or old computers. To be successful and invite visitors time and again a website must be interesting, useful, and user-friendly.

Design provides detailed information on Design, Logo Design, Web Site Design, Interior Design and more. Design is affiliated with Bedroom Decorating.