Not many website owners have a clue about what goes into the development of a website. Most of them if not all do not know how a website should function and how it can bring increased traffic and sales. Internet is full of either shoddy websites that scream "unprofessionalism". Such sites convey a message that the company is not too concerned about its online identity and may not take its clients seriously. On the other hand we have websites that are too decked up and flashy putting even a Christmas tress to shame. These sites have all the whistles and bells but forget that the website has to perform a function. The function may be to inform the site visitors or sell services and products. These websites forget usability and end up turning away their potential clients and buyers. Here are some tips for website owners that can help while getting a website designed by a Website Design Company.

1. Simple is Beautiful: Creating a simple website can be very complex. A website should have a clear and professional design. The message that you want to convey about your company, services or products should be immediately discernible. Avoid animations. They take time to load (may not even load in all browsers) and distract viewers. Call to actions should be very apparent and compelling.

2. Ease of Navigation. Fancy and hard to use menus can be disastrous. If your goal is to get business from your website then make it easy for visitors to navigate your site. Clever menus can put off users and even search engines. Do not use flash based and JavaScript based menus. These cannot be read by search engines and hence can adversely affect your website's ranks in search engines.

3. Contact Information: Most of the times you want your website visitors to pick up the phone and call you up immediately. Place phone numbers and address in very visible areas and on almost all pages of the website.

4. Contact Forms: Many times, you want site visitors to fill out detailed forms with information about their requirements. Have forms that are easy to find and use. Make sure that forms are working. Nothing is worse than filling out long forms and encountering error on submitting it. A failed submission may mean a lost sales opportunity.

5. No Broken Links: Broken links and pages look very unprofessional. A user may turn away from your website on seeing a broken page.

6. Test for all Browsers: All browsers differ in the way they display websites. So ensure that your website looks and performs the same in all browsers.

7. Make Website Search Engine Friendly: A major portion of traffic comes from search engines like Google. Your site will get traffic when it ranks in top pages of Google for relevant keywords and phrases. And ranking is not achieved accidently especially for highly competitive keywords. A website should have proper on page Search Engine Optimization in place. A website should be search engine friendly and efforts to make it such should be made in design phase itself.

A website should be primarily aimed at effectively conveying your business message and getting users to buy your services and products. And hence, a professionally designed website rather than a flashy website should be the ultimate goal.

Author: Aniruddha Badola