What makes a New York Web design company any different from other Web design companies? That's easy Competition. Just look at how many design firms there are out there and you will see what I mean! In the city or outside, someone seeking high quality Web design in New York faces hundreds of choices in an area of just a few city blocks. Now that's competition!
Just picture Google search results, but instead of clicking links you are entering hundreds of Web design studios, lofts and offices of every conceivable size, type and style imaginable. And just as if you searched through Google, if you don't see what you like, it's on to the next one and then the next and so on.
Sure, the competition is crazy but there is a good side. It makes those who really want to shine, work that much harder. They know anyone seeking design services has thousands of choices so they have to keep their ideas fresh and talent at its peak.
Having said that, I'd like to offer some inside advice from a flourishing New York Web design business. Specifically I'd like to hit on some of the more important aspects of Web usability, which is the most important starting point of any design project yet, typically the one least addressed.
First off, most people do not really read a Web page at first glance; they scan it to see if there is something worth actually reading. You need to get their attention right away and keep it. Here's how...
1.) Jump in with your most powerful content right off the bat. Grab their attention immediately and keep it. Never save the best for last unless you have something nearly as good to lead the reader there.
2.) Keep your functional areas consistent throughout your site, especially the navigation links (top navigation, sidebars, etc.) search boxes, login areas, and anything else that requires interaction. The more comfortable a visitor feels using the site, the more likely they are to stay for a while and venture deeper.
3.) Embed a link to your homepage within your company logo. This is expected by just about every site visitor who has been on the Web for any length of time. It's a safety net many users rely and to deny it could result in major inconvenience to your visitors.
4.) Place a search field in a convenient location. But make sure it searches ONLY within your own site. "Search The Web" features practically beg your visitors to leave your site.
Also bear in mind that you want search engines to be able to easily find and get what it needs from your site in addition to live ors. A pretty Website is nowhere near enough. To be found by customers you must first be found by search engines. To do this we use something called search engine optimization or SEO. Following are 3 "must do" items for your Website to do list, if you want your site at the top of Google.
1.) Use text links with anchor text within your page content. You already know that anchor text is the clickable word(s) that comprise a hyperlink. But what you might not realize is just how incredibly powerful that anchor text is.
Want to see for yourself? Go to Google.com and do a search for "Click Here" (without the quotes.) You should notice two things right off. First there are well over 1.6 billion competing Web pages. ?Click Here? is not a search engine friendly use of a hyperlink. It doesn't tell the search engines what they would be searching for. And second, the number one match is for Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Ready for the crazy part that might destroy your conceptions of what matters most in SEO? The words Click Here do not appear anywhere on the page or in the META tags. It's number 1, of 1.6 Billion competing Web pages, because thousands of other Websites used "Click Here" as their anchor text of choice in the URL for the download page. Crazy huh? This is great news for you! You can easily take advantage of that power by linking to and from pages within your Website. Which leads us nicely into Tip number two...
2.) If SEO is a priority, dedicate a separate page to each of your main keywords and link the anchor text from each page to the page that has that keyword as its topic. So if you have a site dealing with citrus fruit you should make ?oranges? the anchor text on the homepage link that leads to the page specifically about oranges.
Industry Insider Tip: If you are a Web designer for hire, adding search engine optimization to your resume is a nice way to get a lot more reward for your efforts. There are a number of good SEO products out there that can help you get professional results with almost no learning curve and a low upfront investment. For example, you can have the exact same tool that eBay relies on for $250, at http://www.iBusinessPR0M0TER.com.
3.) Keep pertinent anchor text at the top of your mind when requesting inbound links from other sites. This is the yardstick by which Google measure's site quality.
This is your best opportunity to build your brand in your own words. You want to define text that will entice people to visit the page and then let the site's quality keep them there. This is just like tip number two above, but you are requesting the anchor text on another Website to link to the appropriate page on your site (not just the homepage.)
And be warned, a lot of Website design professionals will sign up for reciprocal linking services to get quick inbound links. But I advise against it. It's a quick and dirty way to get inbound links and it is likely to hurt you. Google hates it and it's so easy for them to track, because it is simply an inbound link and an outbound link that match.
If you don't have the time or expertise to set up link partners manually, consider the concept of here way linking like the service offered at http://www.3WayLinker.com.
It's very simple and really pretty ingenious. Here's how it works Site 1 links to Site 2. Site 2" links to Site 3. And Site 3 links to Site 1 forming an indirect chain of 1 way links.
That's it for the time being. Best of luck!
About the Author:
Top New York Web Design is David Radovanovic's drive. With a decade of success, WhatsTheBigIdea.com began in 2003. He is also a well known New York graphic designer.
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