Services
Why have a website?
-
Every business needs a web presence, be it a small web presence or a large multi paged interactive site, Essential Marketing’s packages start at € 100 for a basic site to € 600 for a web site (like the one your looking at) right up to the larger sites. We will tailor a site to suit your budget and we can grow and add to it over time.
What's the goal of your website?
-
To inform?
-
To build a community?
-
To gain valuable market research?
-
To reduce support and customer service costs?
-
To reach a broad audience with a message?
-
To find sales leads?
-
To conduct e-commerce?
-
To gain advertising revenue?
-
To brand your company?
-
To build trust?
-
To reduce printing and mailing costs?
These are just some of the many possibilities. Remember, the web is not just a marketing tool - it's a business tool as well. While it is perfectly okay to have an Internet billboard that simply contains contact information, why settle for that when your site can do so much more?
Even the smallest local business can utilize the power of the Internet to be more efficient and to build revenue. Once you start thinking about it, it's easy to get excited about the potential for your site. Contact us
-
Web DesignYour Shop Window
When designing a site, everyone wants a good design. But what quantifies a good design? Does the question aim to quantify appearance or functionality? I would say both.
Competing with the millions of websites on the Internet today, your site needs to enthral, stand out and be unique to be remembered. It must be attractive and appealing to the eye and most importantly, it must capture the essence of the business, product or service you are intending to sell. In terms of functionality, a good design would ensure that users can successfully perform tasks that are intended for them, like logging in, finding information on products or services, purchasing items, or adding and updating their listings on your site.
When using search engines to find information on the web, we sometimes find that the sites that come up top of the list are usually the least attractive. They have too much text, using too many loud colours, and basically, have no design element to them. Sure, the site ranked most relevant in the search, but these websites are frequently abandoned without as much as a read of its contents.
A well-designed website would make audiences feel confident of the company or owner, that they are reputable and take their business seriously, serious enough to spend some time and effort to make it look appealing. After all, our website is a showcase of our business on the Internet. In a physical sense, window dressing, put up a pretty shop front to get the attention of passing customers, and get them into the shop.
From a usability perspective, a well designed website would be one that allows target audiences to find information they need easily, require minimal learning or understanding of the working of the site, and is bug free or has measures in place to address errors that may occur. More
Web Design Some helpful pointers
So now that we understand what it means to have good website design and why it is important, let us look at what makes a good website design.
In life, the right balance of work and play leads to a happier life. In the same way, we need to strike a balance between graphics and text to achieve a high quality site. Too much graphics would increase the loading time, while too much text could sometimes put users off because of the more than necessary information. Too less of both would also mean that users may not get the required details, so graphics and text in equal measures would be the best.
These days, multimedia (animations, audio or video) plays an essential role in reinforcing the message. However, too much moving graphics, blinking texts would serve to annoy the audience than appeal to them. Other guidelines that should be taken into account are clear, crisp images, enough white space between texts to enhance readability, colours that suit the type of target audience, typography or font that is easy to read.
Two very fundamental factors when designing a good website or any website for that matter are consistency and good navigation. All pages should have similar layout and look and feel but the colours of images used could vary somewhat. Navigational menus and links help users move around a site. If users are not able get to where they want, your website is obviously not useful. Therefore, a good navigation system is critical. Users should be able to traverse between the different levels of pages and sections with the least number of clicks.
Essential Marketing can take your existing web site and revamp it or design and content an entirely new site. Why not get in touch today for a free estimate. Contact
.