Good Web Design Practices

Published August 31st, 2010 by WebsitesAre.Us

Your website is where your business resides – it’s like the headquarter of an offline company. Hence, it is important to practice good design principles to make sure your site reaches out to the maximum number of visitors and sells to as many people as possible.

When we design your website, we make sure to follow good web design practices:

  • We have clear directions on the navigation of your website. The navigation menu should be uncluttered and concise so that visitors know how to navigate around your website without confusion.
  • We keep the file size of images on your website to a minimum. Many big photos on the same page make your site load very slowly. If you think high-resolution images are essential on your site, we make sure we optimize them using image editing programs so that they have the smallest possible file size.
  • We keep your text paragraphs at a reasonable length. If a paragraph is too long, we split it into separate paragraphs so that the text blocks will not be too big. This is important because a block of text that is too large will deter visitors from reading your content.
  • We make sure your website complies to web standards at www.w3.org and make sure it is cross-browser compatible. If your website looks great in Internet Explorer but breaks horribly in Firefox or Opera, you will lose out on a lot of prospective visitors.
  • We use CSS to style your page content because they save a lot of work by styling all elements on your website in one go.
  • We avoid using scripting languages on your site unless it is absolutely necessary. Use scripting languages to handle or manipulate data, not to create visual effects on your website. Heavy scripts will slow down the loading time of your site and even crash some browsers. Also, scripts are not supported across all browsers, so some visitors might miss important information because of that.

Talk to Websites Are Us, your San Diego web designer about creating or redesigning your website and get a free quote today.

San Diego Web Design: Website Customization

Published August 29th, 2010 by WebsitesAre.Us

Every web site owner would definitely want their website to look good, if not, to the best they can.

Here are a few things Websites Are Us, your San Diego web designer, looks out for when we create a professional looking website for you:

Web Site Color Schemes and Themes

When designing, we choose colors that match your business style and company logo.  The web design theme must always suit your business trade or market. We will make the design unique but also try to keep it professional and not to mix too many colors together, unless your website is about art or design. We also care that all text and font styles and sizes are adequate to the formality of the website and readable, and the layout and navigation of your website is functional.

We also make sure the resolutions and file sizes of the pictures are not too large so fast loading of every page is ensured.

Finally, we always try to think of your visitors, and see your website the way they do.

When Is the Right Time To Redesign Your Website?

Published August 17th, 2010 by WebsitesAre.Us

If you have a website, chances are you often wonder whether it is the right time to do a total redesign of the layout of your website.

Here are some points to consider:

Are you thinking of a redesign just for the sake of it? If you answered yes to that question, it is not yet the right time to do a redesign. Remember, a design serves a specific purpose. If you are not sure whether to do an overhaul of your site, keep in mind that your current design might have a specific purpose that you might not know about. You will lose that function if you do a redesign.

On the other hand, if your website has had the same website design since 2001, perhaps it is high time to do a redesign. The internet has evolved and there are many new options for websites these days. The last thing you would ever want to happen to your site is when visitors leave your site without taking a look at your content just because the design looks old fashioned. If this is your case, here are some points to ponder before doing a redesign.

Redesigning your website is like performing plastic surgery on it. It is very important that you retain a characteristic feature from your old layout. If your website loses its current identity completely and your regular visitors don’t recognize your new design at first glance, you risk losing them just because they thought they landed on the wrong page. So try to keep some elements, may be the logo of your site or the same text style for the title for your site.

Looking to redesign your website in San Diego, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, Escondido or other areas in North County? Contact us for a free quote!

How To Get My Website On Google In A Competitive Market

Published August 8th, 2010 by WebsitesAre.Us

How To Rank High On Google In Highly Competitive Markets

For some terms and phrases, even the best websites with the most diligent promotional efforts will have a very difficult time penetrating the top 10 search results. In these instances, it can be tempting to rely on efforts outside of the search engines’ guidelines. However strong this temptation may be, be advised that search engines do not tolerate spam or manipulation via automated links, nor do they allow such results to flourish for long. Although these methods, commonly referred to as ‘black hat SEO’, may have some effectiveness in the short term, they have little chance of long-term success in the SERPs and may become permanently banned from search results.

For highly competitive markets like mortgage, health insurance or real estate, targeting ‘long tail keywords’ can be your best bet. Long tail keywords are those three and four search phrases that are more specific to the services or products you are offering. Sure, there are less searches for these very specific search terms than for ‘general terms’ but whenever a customer uses a highly specific search phrase, they tend to be looking for exactly what they are actually going to purchase. In most cases, those searches are much more likely to convert to sales than general generic searches that tend to be geared more toward the type of research that consumers typically do prior to making a buying decision.

How do I find out what these long tail keywords are?

Here  is an example. Let’s say you are selling health insurance in California. At first, you might consider optimizing your website for the generic phrase ‘health insurance’.

However, if you tried to rank high on Google for that phrase, you’d be facing direct competition from big established insurance websites. It is very unlikely that your website will be able to knock any of those competitors out of the top ten.

But, even more importantly, ‘health insurance’ isn’t the best phrase for you to target anyway. If you go for such a generic search phrase, it isn’t likely to convert to many sales.

So let’s look at some of the keywords that are more specific to what you are selling – keywords that your website is much more likely to rank for and generate traffic and sales right away.

Here are a few specific key phrases that relate to customers who are more focused on finding exactly what you are selling:

  • California student health insurance
  • health insurance agent San Diego
  • California family health insurance quote

Of course, these are just a few examples. You can find long tail keywords specific to your market by using the free ‘Google Adwords keywords tool’, even if you don’t intend to pay for an advertising program (just google for this term and it should come up first in the search results).

To summarize, here is why you want to optimize your website for long tail keywords:

  • Long tail keywords are much easier to rank for
  • People who search for long tail keywords are much more likely to become buyers

To find more free tips about optimizing your website, visit http://www.websitesare.us, and scroll down to the free ‘Info, Tips And Resources’ section on the bottom of our website.

Top 10 Reasons Why Your Business Needs A Professional Website

Published August 6th, 2010 by WebsitesAre.Us
  1. Your Business is Open to the World 24/7, 365 Days a Year

    2. Unlike your company’s office that may be open from 8-5, Monday through Friday, your company’s website is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. There are many different time zones that may affect your business, which is why being on the web makes it time convenient for everyone.

  2. It’s Your Online Brochure / Catalog That Can Be Changed at Anytime

    3. A website is easier, cheaper and quicker to update than print material. Its’ capacities are almost limitless which allows you to provide users with more comprehensive information. This will save you money on printing and distribution costs as well.

  3. Reach New Markets with a Global Audience

    4. On the Internet, you aren’t that local little business anymore. You have the potential to be seen by millions across the globe. Did you ever think your company would have the possibility of doing business around the world? Well, now you can. Without a doubt, the Internet is the most cost effective way to trade nationally and internationally.

  4. Improved Customer Service

    5. By providing answers to questions on your website, sales and information requests can be processed automatically and immediately, whether someone is in the office or not. Online forms can be used to allow customers to request quotations or ask further information. Save costs by allowing users to download invoices, proposals and important documents.

  5. Present a Professional Image

    6. For a small business, a well-designed web site is a great way of instilling confidence and looking bigger than you actually are. In this day and age, customers assume that you already have a website. By now, your primary competitors probably already have a presence on the Internet. If they do, keep up with them and find ways to make yours better.

  6. Sell Your Products

    7. Why pay expensive rent, overhead, electric bills, and all the other costs that go along with owning a bricks-n-mortar business? Selling in cyberspace is much cheaper and a good way to supplement your offline business. Providing secure online ordering is very affordable for even the smallest businesses.

  7. Promote Your Services

    8. Lawyers, doctors, financial consultants, entertainers, realtors and all service oriented businesses should let customers know that they have a choice. Millions of users are referring to the web and are using company’s websites to make major decisions when they need a specialized service.

  8. Gather Information and Generate Valuable Leads

    9. You can gather information about your customers and potential customers by using forms and surveys. Rather than going out and getting leads, let them come to you. This is a great tool for prospecting targeted customers looking to use your products and services.

  9. Provides Instant Gratification

    10. People are busy and don’t like to wait for information. Give them what they want, when they want it. If your product is suitable, offer them free samples or trials to download. This includes pictures, brochures, software, videos, Power Point slides, music and more.

  10. Great Recruiting Tool

    11. Whether you are looking for talent or posting job opportunities with your company, your website is a great recruiting tool for building your business.

Are you ready to get your website started today? Check out our Affordable Web Site Design Templates!

Designing Web Sites With Quality Content

Published August 2nd, 2010 by WebsitesAre.Us

Why Should a Search Engine Rank Your Site Above all the Others in its Field?

If you cannot answer this question clearly and precisely, the task of ranking higher will be exponentially more difficult. Search engines attempt to rank the very best sites with the most relevant content first in their results, and until your site’s content is the best in its field, you will always struggle against the engines rather than bringing them to your doorstep.

It is in content quality that a site’s true potential shows through, and although search engines cannot measure the likelihood that users will enjoy a site, the vote via links system operates as a proxy for identifying the best content in a market. With great content, therefore, come great links and, ultimately, high rankings. Deliver the content that users need, and the search engines will reward your site.

Content quality, however, like professional design, is not always dictated by strict rules and guidelines. What passes for “best of class” in one sector may be below average in another market. The competitiveness and interests of your peers and competitors in a space often determine what kind of content is necessary to rank. Despite these variances, however, several guidelines can be almost universally applied to produce content that is worthy of attention:

  • Research Your Field
    Get out into the forums, blogs and communities where folks in your industry spend their online discussion time. Note the most frequently asked questions, the most up-to-date topics and the posts or headlines that generate the most interest. Apply this knowledge when you create high quality content and directly address your market’s needs. If 10,000 people in the botany field are seeking articles that contain more illustrated diagrams instead of just photos, delivering that piece can set your content (and your site) apart from the competition.
  • Consult and Publish in Partnership with Industry Experts
    In any industry, there will be high-level, publically prominent experts as well as a second tier of “well-known in web circles” folks. Targeting either of these groups for collaborative efforts in publishing articles, reviewing your work or contributing (even via a few small quotes) can be immensely valuable. In this manner, you can be assured that your content is both link and visitor-worthy. In addition, when partnering with “experts”, exposure methods are built-in, creating natural promotion angles.
  • Create Documents that Can Serve as One-Stop Resources
    If you can provide a single article or resource that provides every aspect of what a potential visitor or searcher might be seeking, your chances for success in SEO go up. An “all-in-one” resource can provide more opportunities than a single subject resource in many cases. Don’t be too broad as you attempt to execute this kind of content creation – it’s still important to keep a narrow focus when you create your piece. The best balance can be found by putting yourself in the potential users’ shoes – if your piece fits their needs and covers every side of their possible interests, while remaining “on-message,” you’re ready to proceed.
  • Provide Unique Information
    Make sure that when you design your content outline, you include data and information that can be found nowhere else. While collecting and amalgamating information across the web can create good content, it is the unique elements in your work that will be noticed and recommended.
  • Serve Important Content in a Non-Commercial Format
    Creating a document format that is non-commercial is of exceptional importance for attracting links and attention. The communities of web and content builders is particularly attuned to the commercialization of the web and will consciously and sub-consciously link to and recommend resources that don’t serve prominent or interfering advertising. If you must post ads, do so as subtlety and unobtrusively as possible.
  • One Great Page is Worth a Thousand Good Pages
    While hundreds or dozens of on-topic pages that cover sections of an industry are valuable to a website’s growth, it is actually far better to invest a significant amount of time and energy producing a few articles/resources of truly exceptional quality. To create documents that become “industry standard” on the web and are pointed to time after time as the “source” for further investigations, claims, documents, etc. is to truly succeed in the rankings battle. The value of “owning” this traffic and link source far outweighs a myriad of articles that are rarely read or linked to.

Ask Websites Are Us Your San Diego Web Designer what you can do to improve the quality of your web site’s content.

Web Design: Creating Useful Web Sites

Published July 28th, 2010 by WebsitesAre.Us

One of the most important and often overlooked tasks in building a successful website is creating useful content. A site that ranks #1 for a set of terms in a competitive industry or market segment must be able to justify its value, or risk losing out to competitors who offer more. Search engines’ goals are to rank the best, most usable, functional and informative sites first. By intertwining your site’s content and performance with these goals, you can help to ensure its long term prospects in the search engine rankings.

How To Create A ‘Useful’ Web Site

Usability represents the ease-of-use inherent in your site’s design, navigation, architecture and functionality. The idea behind the practice is to make your site intuitive so that visitors will have the best possible experience on the site. A whole host of features figure into usability, including:

  • Design
    The graphical elements and layout of website have a strong influence on how easily usable the site is. Standards like blue, underlined links, top and side menu bars, logos in the top, left-hand corner may seem like rules that can be bent, but adherence to these elements (with which web users are already familiar) will help to make a site usable. Design also encompasses important topics like visibility & contrast, affecting how easy it is for users to interest the text and image elements of the site. Separation of unique sections like navigation, advertising, content, search bars, etc. is also critical as users follow design cues to help them understand a page’s content. A final consideration would also take into account the importance of ensuring that critical elements in a site’s design (like menus, logos, colors and layout) were used consistently throughout the site.
  • Information Architecture
    The organizational hierarchy of a site can also strongly affect usability. Topics and categorization impact the ease with which a user can find the information they need on your site. While an intuitive, intelligently designed structure will seamlessly guide the user to their goals, a complex, obfuscated hierarchy can make finding information on a site disturbingly frustrating.
  • Navigation
    A navigation system that guides users easily through both top-level and deep pages and makes a high percentage of the site easily accessible is critical to good usability. Since navigation is one of a website’s primary functions, provide users with obvious navigation systems: breadcrumbs, alt tags for image links, and well written anchor text that clearly describes what the user will get if they click a link. Navigation standards like these can drastically improve usability performance.
  • Functionality
    To create compelling usability, ensure that tools, scripts, images, links, etc., all function as they are intended and don’t provide errors to non-standard browsers, alternative operating systems or uninformed users (who often don’t know what/where to click).
  • Accessibility
    Accessibility refers primarily to the technical ability of users to access and move through your site, as well as the ability of the site to serve disabled or impaired users. For SEO purposes, the most important aspects are limiting code errors to a minimum and fixing broken links, making sure that content is accessible and visible in all browsers and without special actions.
  • Content
    The usability of content itself is often overlooked, but its importance cannot be overstated. The descriptive nature of headlines, the accuracy of information and the quality of content all factor highly into a site’s likelihood to retain visitors and gain links.

Overall, usability is about gearing a site towards the potential users. Success in this arena garners increased conversion rates, a higher chance that other sites will link to yours and a better relationship with your users. For creating useful content or improving the content of your website, contact Your San Diego Web Designer Websites Are Us.

Web Design FAQs

Published August 17th, 2009 by WebsitesAre.Us

What do I need to get my first website online?

  1. Register your website’s domain name
    A domain name is the name of your website, e.g. www.websitesare.us, and needs to be registered with a Domain Name Registrant. 
  2. Select a web hosting company
    A web hosting company will store the files that make up your website on their publicly accessible
    web server so your website is online on the world wide web.
  3. Create your website
    Ask your web designer what they will do to ensure that your website will be found on top of the search engines – or order your search engine optimized website with money back guarantee with Websites Are Us.

If you are confused how to order your domain name or website hosting, Websites Are Us is happy to help you and purchase a domain name and hosting services on your behalf through a renowned domain and hosting partner of our choice.

    The fees for domain name registration (typically about $10 per year) and web hosting (typically about $5-$9 per month) are NOT included in our web design services as they are payable by the client directly to the domain and hosting company monthly or annually in advance (by credit card orPayPal).We have tested many domain registrants and web hosts and found that the following two companies provide excellent value for a great price:
    Websites Are Us - Your San Diego Web Designer recommends GoDaddy Domain names for domain name registration and Websites Are Us - Your San Diego Web Designer recommends HostGator Web Hosting for web hosting.

I want to sell online and need a shopping cart e-commerce website. Can you do this?

    Sure. Please see examples of shopping cart websites we created for other clients on our Web Design Clients page.

I already have a website that needs redesign, or I don’t get enough visitors. Can you help me?

How long does it take to get my website up and running?

    Regular websites take us usually about 4 to 6 weeks after the start date. We can even rush your project for a small fee, so you can have your new website within one to two weeks.

How can I be sure that I will like my website?

    We take pride in all our satisfied customers and look forward to giving you the same level of service excellence. Due to the high standard of our work we have the confidence to guarantee our work 100%. If you are not completely satisfied with the appearance or functionality of your web design, Websites Are Us will continue to work on your web site at no additional charge until you are, or you can cancel your contract with us for a refund. You get your money back, and we keep the copyright to the work we have already done for you.

Can I provide my own text and photos?

    Sure. You can submit text, design, logos, graphics, photos, printed brochures and/or any other artwork or items to be included in the design or content of your website before we start your project. You can either mail or email them to us, or upload it onto our web server, or we can meet in person if you are located in the San Diego area.

Do I have to come up with text and photos?

    No. If you prefer not to contribute any text, artwork or other items, you agree that Websites Are Us will build your website drafting text we deem suitable, and use royalty-free stock images from our collection.

How is your working process?

    We will provide you with a basic layout and content draft for your website, usually within 7 to 10 business days. After you have reviewed the web design draft, we will continue to make modifications until the basic layout and content is approved by you. Once it is approved, we will create the detailed page layout, add programming, pictures, photos, and text. During this process, you will have the opportunity to review the progress. We will establish a private directory for your new website on our testing server so that you may view the website development progress at any time. Our project manager will inform you via email when extensive updates to the site have been made so you can review the most recent progress.
    We will continue to make modifications until the final layout and content is approved by you. After getting your final approval and payment we will transfer your website to the hosting company’s web server. From this point on your website is ‘live’ on the internet.

Will I own the copyright to my website?

    Yes. Once Websites Are Us has received final payment for your project you will own the copyright to everything we created for your website.

Can I edit my content or add new photos once my website is online?

    Your website will be set up as a flexible CMS (Content Management System) with an online ‘back office’ where you can easily log in and edit your website’s content yourself. Websites Are Us will provide you with a written manual or train you how to do so. If you need additional help, we offer phone or email support at no additional charge for up to 6 months after the website has launched (up to 30 minutes per month). Your ‘back office’ is really easy to use for everybody with basic computer knowledge.

Other Questions? Please click here to contact us. Our San Diego web designer team will be happy to answer all your website questions

Save 20% On Web Hosting

Published June 26th, 2009 by WebsitesAre.Us

Why Do I Need Web Hosting?

Once your website is created and your domain name registered, the digital files that make your website need to be stored on a web server, so your website can be reached by all internet visitors at any time. A web hosting company provides this service by running web servers with special software to ensure the security, accessibility and functionality of your website on the internet.

How Much Is Web Hosting?

There are many web hosting companies with a multitude of hosting plans out there, and selecting a good one can be overwhelming. The web hosting fee for a regular website ranges usually between $5 and $10 per month. Extra features like secure payment sites for shopping cart websites can be added for an extra fee, if necessary. In order to ensure that your website has no down-time and can be reached fast and secure, it pays to select a reputable web host with reliable equipment, secure software and 24/7, US based support. After many years of working with different web hosting companies, we have selected Hostgator as our preferred web host.

Save 20%

As a new customer you will get a 20% discount with Hostgator. Click on the banner below to lock in your savings:

Download A Step-By-Step Guide How To Order The Right Hosting Plan

How To Select The Best Name For Your Website

Published June 26th, 2009 by WebsitesAre.Us

How To Select The Best Name For Your Website

What Is A Domain Name?

To reach a website you have to type an address into your internet browser – the domain name (e.g. www.websitesare.us). This domain name has to be unique so computers know where to find your website. ICANN, the Internet Corporation For Assigned Names And Numbers, coordinates these unique identifiers across the world, and your domain name needs to be registered with ICANN through an accredited domain-name registrar. Domain Name Registrars usually charge about $10 per year for the registration of a regular .com domain.

How To Select The Best Name For Your Website

Once you start looking for your domain name, you will notice that most good names are already taken. So you might have to settle with a less perfect option. Here are the four most important things to keep in mind when selecting your domain name:

  • Select a name that is as short as possible
  • Ideally select a name that ends in .com. If .com is already taken, your next best options are .org (yes, everybody can get a .org domain!), .net, .us (or your country’s extension if you are outside the US). Avoid .biz or .info – for some reason only known to Google these don’t rank so well.
  • Prefer names without dashes (mydomain.com is better than my-domain.com)
  • If possible, include your most important ‘keyword’, or think of registering 2 domains: One with your company name, and one with your keyword that will be forwarded to your company name website (e.g. www.sandiegowheelchair.com). The search engines love domains that include the keyword you want to rank for.

Check Whether Your Domain Name Is Still Available:

Working With Websites Are Us

We will assist you in finding you the (almost) perfect domain name by using software tools that allow us to check available domain names fast and easily.

Get a free quote

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We are based in San Diego County, California and work for clients in San Diego, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Escondido, Oceanside, San Marcos, Vista and online nationwide.
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