So You Want to Start a DVD Replication Service, Huh?
Why would you want to start open a dvd duplication service? After all, everything is moving to iPods and smartphones, right? Think again. Most music is still listened to on a good old CD. So if you thought CDs were on their way out, do not count on it just yet. But are not
CD duplication business just for folks who need thousands of discs…I ca not handle that many CDs! Not necessarily. In fact, the big companies often focus on mass production often at a fairly high cost. That leaves the door open for you. I mean sure, you may not make a million dollars a year, but you can bring home a respectable profit if you work at it.
Software vendors, music artists, and companies who need to secure their data all need a place to turn to for CD duplication needs. It is time for you to be that person. You may already have most of the equipment necessary for production. First, you will need CDs (no kidding, heh). Next, you will need a computer (either a desktop or a laptop should do the trick) that comes with CD burning capabilites. Third, you will need the software to actually burn CDs. Finally, you will need the most important thing…the customers, silly! Even if you do not have the equipment, it iss not hard to obtain. Most computer companies and general merchandise outlets (Sears, Wal Mart, etc.) offer computers and software of all sorts. And the cost is not out of this world, either.
Now, back to those customers…who should you go after. Find out what local bands are in the area. Where? Check MySpace or Facebook. If you are attending school or college (or have a friend or relative who is), ask around there. Bands are looking for someone quick and easy to get their music mass produced. They maybe can not afford a professional company, but you might be just what they are looking for. Another target is a small business. You would think someone in the company would handle it, would not you? But you would be surprised at the number of companies who do not have the time or computer knowledge to handle their own data backup. Usually when that is the case, they simply decide to do without the backup. As we both know, that is a bad idea!
My suggestion is to go online and see what the big wigs charge, then use that as a template to figuring out how much you will want to charge. If you set a sensible price, nice turnaround time, and superior disks, you will not only have customers coming back, word of mouth will really get you jump started. So if you are interested in starting your own
DVD replication services , now is the time!
Confessions of A Web Designer
March 8, 2010 by Stacy42 · 6 Comments
Introduction
When I decided I needed a website for my business I had no idea of the very many processes involved. Like most people, I thought web design meant deciding on the graphics and the look of the pages and then by some magic it would all happen.
I have a friend who is in the business of web design and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) so I approached him for a quote. As a complete novice who is computer literate up to a point, I was amazed at the depth of initial questioning required to find out exactly what my requirements were.
I had no idea about the various aspects and the structure of the site and I found it mind blowing when I learned about the amount of work involved. So I thought other people would be interested to know more about this complicated process and I have asked my friend to supply the technical information for this article.
Stages in the Process
Target Audience
Before building a website there are important questions to consider. I was asked who would be my potential audience. Who are my customers likely to be? Would they be children, businesses, home owners, sales people, parents or teenagers and so on?
The objective of the website
Then I was asked, what was the purpose of my website? Did I want to sell services on line or use it to market my business and get more leads for possible customers? Maybe I would want to use it as an online brochure to showcase products. Another possibility was to use the website to foster a community so that I was in contact with other like-minded people, with chat rooms, online discussion and being supported by advertising on the site.
I hadn’t quite realised the scope of a website but as I was asked these questions it became clear that a lot of careful thought went into the preparation before building a website.
How to be Found on the Web
One of the first questions I was asked was, ‘Do you want it to be found by Google the main search engine?’ If I did then there was a whole process of establishing Keywords. So finding the best keywords are vital if you want to be found in Google. Generally most users only look at the first page of results so you will also want to promote your website to get on this page for your chosen keywords. By using a keyword research tool you can find the single most popular keyword for your industry.
Your Domain Name
Choosing a domain name is often quite a challenge because every name you initially come up with will almost certainly have been taken. Domain names ending in .com are by far the most popular and internationally recognised; the snag is that it’s very popularity means that the majority of the shorter names have already been registered.
So looking at names with endings such as .net; .co.uk or .info may be able to provide you with the domain name you are after.
We were lucky with the latest Dryzone specific company domain name because we had sought advice about registering it ages ago and got one with the word Dryzone in it, which also happens to be really relevant to our business.When choosing your domain name it is very important to include one or more of your keywords if possible as this can apparently help with search engine rankings. So although the name of your business is the obvious choice for a domain name, it is not necessarily the only option.
Creating a Site Map
As with any project you must have a plan, the better the plan the better the project turns out. A site map for a web site is part of the plan for the site. The importance of creating a site map is to get it clear in your mind of all the pages you will have on your website so you can prepare the content for each page and begin to design the flow through the website, such as when a user adds a product to their basket, then enters their delivery and billing address and makes the credit card payment in the correct order.
The aim is to make the site as simple to use as possible so that there are no barriers to getting into the website. For that reason often user name and passwordz are set for the customer so that they are not put off making a purchase by having to register.
For a non e-commerce site things are simpler with a contact form which allows you to receive enquiries by email without publishing your email address on the website, thus avoiding junk email.Web forms can also validate the information before you receive it, so ensuring that the phone number provided does not contain words, and that the email address is in the correct format, for example. These things may sound very technical to us lay-folk but I assure you everything has to be decided in advance before starting on the construction of the site.
Copy
The next stage is preparing the copy. This is not the design of your website – just the words and visuals you want to have one each of the pages.Having gathered all the previous information you will need to decide what imagery you want to use within the website content. As we all know, a picture speaks a thousand words and remains in people’s memory far longer than just words.For each image you could also have a caption, as the caption of an image is the next ‘most read’ words on the page after the page title. Images and their captions need to be clickable. When you click on a picture it should take you to the next stage of the process such as the sale page or placing an enquiry if your website is for lead generation.
Navigation
Another important aspect when building a website is how you want your navigation to work. You can have links within the content of your website, in the text, so there are not just links from the menu. You will need to decide whether the links will open into a new window, retaining your original page open. Next time you go online, you will realise how much thought has gone into the way in which a website works.
Website Design
Finally we come to the design of your website. I asked my SEO friend about the design stage he says it is one of the most difficult stages of the process because it’s subjective.
What one person might like, another person might not like. If you are setting up a website for yourself alone then you will probably have some idea of what you want to see on the site. But if, as so often happens, the website is for a large corporation there will be inputs from many people or departments and you can be sure that they will never all agree!
There are a number of ways to approach web design but ultimately you need to create a design brief for the designer(s) to work from. Look at other websites and your competitor’s websites to find out what you like or dislike. The design brief should give reference to the logo, any existing brand guidelines or schemes and fonts and colour schemes, and should also detail which pages of the website that the designer is being tasked with creating visuals for.
The very best results will be achieved by using a graphic designer, and beware – not all graphic designers are the same. A graphic designer who designs specifically for print is working in a different discipline than a graphic designer who designs for screen and specifically the web. So choose your designer carefully, look at other work that person has done and determine whether or not you like their style.
If you are working in the big time and budget allows, use multiple graphic designers who have all been given the same design brief and request three concept designs from each designer. If the client themselves also do a graphic design, even if it’s a back of the envelope scribble, you will then have 10 concept designs. The next step is to get them all together and select the preferred elements from each design. Then give the work to the preferred graphic designer to work up as the final artwork.
The artwork should be finalised and agreed on by everybody before construction of the site begins.
Production
Finally the preparation has been done and the site is ready to be built. Now for the more technical stuff! You will need to have decided which programming language to use to build the website. There are two main types for developing a website, one is Unix based, and the other is Windows based. Each one has pros and cons. If you are starting from scratch then it probably won’t matter, so you can go with the preference of your professional doing the work. My website is built on the Unix platform (apparently!) which is the same as many of the more well known websites such as Ebay, Facebook, Google and Amazon. Also your website hosting must be compatible with the development language with which your website is built.
Accessibility and Compliance
The website has to meet the current standards for website coding and doing so insures that disabled users, such as the visually impaired, can still access the entire website if they are using a Braille web browser.
Website Development
The best way to develop a website is on the web Server where the site is going to live. This way, those involved in reviewing the work can see work in progress and provide comments throughout the development.
Unforeseen items
There are always some things that arise in any project which you suddenly realise you have forgotten, so no matter how well the website designer prepares and asks the right questions, there will always be a last minute change or addition. The main aim is to minimise the number of glitches that might arise because they aren’t calculated in and they could cause extra costs and delays on the date of the web site going live.
Publishing Your New Website
The moment of excitement comes when your site finally is published to the internet and you see the results of all the thought that has gone into the whole process. We put in a lot of work collaborating on the website texts for our new website at http://www.spikedrunningshoes.com with the design agency and when the site went live it was a real feeling of achievement.
Reporting and Monitoring
Once your website is up and running, you will want to know how many people visit your website and from that number how many actually buy the products or place an enquiry. From these statistics you can work out the ratio of visits to sales and gradually make changes to improve the ratios. There are some reliable statistics packages such as Google Analytics or Web-Stat.com which allow you to collect and review website visitor data in near real time. All you need to do this is to have a small block of code inserted into each web page on your site.
Another useful service that Web-stat.com provides is to monitor the website and warn you by email or text message if the site is offline. Google Analytics doesn’t yet provide a comparable uptime monitoring service, maybe they just decided it was too much of a headache as it is an intensive service checking a website every 5 minutes to make sure it is still responding and indeed web-stat do promote this difference as one of their unique selling points but it is pretty hard to compete with free. In fact Google Analytics is not quite free, which makes it an even better marketing decision for Google because sometimes it is harder to give things away for free than it is to sell them! Google Analytics is a free service available to Google AdWords advertisers, you don’t actually have to have any AdWords campaigns running but it will cost you a one-time activation fee of £5 (or similar in your local currency) to open your AdWords account, but once you have done that you can go on to use Google Analytics for as many websites as you like.
Marketing
Once the website is live there are lots of things you can do to market your product or service. The first step is to submit it to the search engines and at the same time write articles, and press releases. Getting links to the site from forums, blogs and other social networking spaces are other options. For more on this subject ask your designer about SEO
Conclusion
Wheww. What an amazing amount of work! I hadn’t realised when I started the process of getting a website up and running, how complicated it all is and how many factors you have to consider before even designing the website. The word web design is really a misnomer, as people often think it’s just about the graphic design on the home page, and the branding of the product. Unless you are a computer buff, most people have no idea how much goes into designing and building a website and the systems that support the work you want it to do. I hope that this article will give readers an understanding and insight into the whole process of website development from start to finish.
Starting Out in FarmVille
January 14, 2010 by Stacy42 · 2 Comments
If you’re new to the world of FarmVille, it won’t likely take long for you to figure out why this game has captured the imagination of the Facebook community. There are a ton of options when it comes to what seeds you can grow, what buildings and decorations you can put on your farm, and which types of livestock you choose to raise. Because you do have so many options though, it can be a little difficult at first to figure out where to start in order to develop your farm right. Here are some FarmVille strategies that can help you get the best out of your farm.
Expand Your Farm Slowly
You want to get the most out of your land when you’re working in FarmVille. This means that you’ll want to clear a substantial amount of land so that you can plant as many crops as possible. You do have to be careful about how much land you clear at once though. Here’s a FarmVille hint – it costs 15 coins to clear one plot of land, so if you clear too many at once, you won’t have any coins left to buy the seeds you want to plant.
It’s best to slowly expand your plowed plots of land so that you’re always able to take full advantage of their planting potential. After each harvest, it’s a good idea to replant on all of your current plots first. Once you’ve done this it will be much easier to figure out how much more land you can afford to clear this time around. Following this pattern will quickly allow you to expand your farm while ensuring that you always have enough money to plant on all of your cleared plots.
Plan Your Harvests
Another FarmVille secret is that it can be tough to get the hang of at first is timing your harvests right. Each crop you plant in the game will take a particular amount of time to mature. Once a crop is mature, you can harvest it. But don’t wait too long. If you don’t get back in time, your crops will wither and you’ll just have to plow the land again and start over. It’s important to plan your plantings so that you’ll be able to get back to check on your farm before this happens.
One of the great things about FarmVille is that you can take it as seriously as you want to take it. If you only want to log in once a week, that’s fine. Just make sure you plant crops that will last that long. Once you start playing though, it’s not likely you’ll be able to stay away for very long.
Networking Tips
December 31, 2009 by Stacy42 · 2 Comments
DANGER: Happy Holidays… NOT with Facebook Spoof eMails
While developing, implementing, managing and supporting over 100 websites I get to see every type of spam under the sun. If you saw the movie Forrest Gump, Bubba started a list of all the ways he knew to prepare shrimp… I won’t bore you with the nitty gritty details but my list is that long about spam and I am from the South. Boy, Howdy.
Identical to the email notifications from Facebook, the Facebook Spoof emails are the worst offenders lately. Right now there is a virus that infects your computer and your Facebook account. Watch out for the ‘Happy Holidays’ Facebook Spoof! Don’t open the emails! Even though you maybe in love with Facebook. Procede with caution when it comes to networking sites. Below is a list of the eMail practices I employ. Please add your best practice to the comments…
Keith Farrazzi – How Do I Start Networking?
If you ever have the opportunity to see Keith Farrazzi, the popular author of Never Eat Alone in a live presentation, GO! He’s just like he is in this short 2 minute video, passionate and animated. He has some great point about being involved in place where you will shine…and that’s where your passion comes in… I also noticed that he never mentioned formal business networking events… and that is a detail that’s very important. You can connect anywhere! (But we encourage business networking organizations. 
Don’t limit yourself by thinking you can’t make business connections outside of your referral group or chamber mixer. Starbucks maybe the place where your next big business connection is standing right next to you!
Creating Memories
by Dale Furtwengler
Offering a referral or resource to a person you’ve met at networking events, well nothing creates a memory better than that. But a memory of what? Certainly your kindness and generosity, but is that enough to help you generate more referrals? Well, not if you aren’t clearly communicating who your ideal client is. 1. They emphasis what they do.
2. They don talk about what advantages their clients receive in working with them.
3. They use demographics to identify their ideal client.
I’m going to be talking about point number three. You already know what it feels like when someone’s rambling commentary is all about them. Boring! The least obvious is the third mistake.
Where Is Michelle MacPhearson
December 5, 2009 by Stacy42 · 3 Comments
Michelle MacPhearson is an internet marketer who integrates social media and Web 2.0 technologies and innovations into her marketing, and helps others do the same.
You can find tons of resources at her blog, MichelleMacPhearson.com. You may be particurally interested in the “Steal This Niche” series of posts, which is a set of videos walking you through the keyword research process. What’s even funner is that when you’re done watching the videos, you walk away with a high traffic and low competition keyword that you can target and build a site around. Yes, you really can steal Michelle MacPhearson’s niche!
She’s also active on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. If you’re using any of those services, you can connect with Michelle MacPhearson there and get up-to-date and innovative online marketing tips she sends out regularly.
One of her most acclaimed free reports, Social Media Daily, has been touted as better than paid products on the topic. Within Social Media Daily, Michelle MacPhearson walks you through the process of using Web 2.0 and social media sites to build the link popularity of your own site. It’s link building on the cheap, and this resource is the most comprehensive out there.
Another free resource you might enjoy is the Social Media Myth, where Michelle MacPhearson explains the reason most marketers aren’t having success with their social media marketing and devises a simple plan for you to follow. Unfortunately, we try to do too much with too little, the Social Media Myth is the answer.
Self Improvement With Motivation
August 29, 2009 by Stacy42 · 3 Comments
Personal development is a popular field for online teachers and coaches. Also known as self improvement coaches, they range from Wayne Dyer to John Demartini. It is worth knowing that you can spend a lot of savings on mindset coaching, and while it can be worth every cent, it can also be learned a lot cheaper. Most, if not all, of it is available for free in libraries and online. Just Google it and you will have plenty to sink your teeth into.
Personal Development
While personal development is important, it is also vital to understand the balance required between your personal family life and the time you spend on self improvement. Building your mindset can be life changing to your family in a very good way but it can also be detrimental if you are stealing away all your energy and attention from them in your quest to become a mindpower guru.
Social Media For Motivation
Look for online sources to improve your mindset. While Googling it is always good, think about the personal performance sources that is available on Social Media. You will find sources galore within social networking sites and that can be a free source to start your peak performance quest. Remember, expensive is not always the best price. Dig around on sites like Ning, FaceBook and Twitter to see who have the contacts for you to start building your own personal best to the levels that you have only dreamt of in the past. With a bit of luck, you will soon be exactly where you wanted to be and that day may come sooner than you expect.
7 Ways To Use Twitter
August 17, 2009 by Stacy42 · 5 Comments
If you have asked your friends and family if they are on Twitter, they may or may not know what you are talking about. While everyone and their mother seems to know about MySpace and Facebook, many people seem to finally be learning what is Twitter. The thing is though, Twitter, while some compare it to the other social network sites, is more geared towards professional adults then anything else. While some young people may sign up for an account, they generally do not last long on there.
This is probably because you cannot post pretty graphics, write blogs that are ten pages long, and stalk the lives of other people through the millions of pictures they are posting of themselves. With all of that taken into consideration, Twitter is the place to be for the working adult that is professional and looking to expand their business through connection and customer relations. There are in fact seven popular ways people use Twitter
#1 Expand Your Circle Of Friends
With the help of Twitter you can follow people who are of like mind. Those who are in the same field as you or who have the same interests are often the people that you will find yourself following. These people will generally follow your Twitter account as well since you all have so much in common. The people you follow through Twitter may never come to be anything more then an Internet friendship, but that does not mean that it is not a friendship that has its place and its value in your life.
#2 Learn About Those You Admire
Whether you are following an actor, a singer, or your favorite businessperson, you are able to follow their account. Their comments may give you an insight into who they really are and how they run business. A lot can be learned through watching people that you admire. You may also learn a few tips and tricks from them without even realizing it. By making some sort of connection with the people you admire you are able to see what it is that you want to be.
#3 Keep Your Family Informed
If your mother wants to know every time your new baby does something cute or special, you may find that you are tired of placing twenty phone calls a day. But, you want to make sure that your relatives are not missing out on the important or special things that are taking place throughout your day or week. By placing easy to type messages or comments on Twitter, your family can see everything that is happening and feel as though they are really being kept in the loop.
#4 Become Famous In Your Own Right
Many people find that they need a fast, efficient, and cheap way to advertise themselves. Maybe you are staring in a new local play or an article you wrote just became published in a magazine. By placing a simple and sweet comment on your Twitter page, those following you will know about your recent accomplishments and will want to check them out.
#5 Learn How To Open Up
Those that find they have a hard time opening up to people, even with the simplest thing, find that Twitter helps them overcome those obstacles. By placing a comment or two a day you can open up to those following you and see the wonderful responses that come from such an act.
#6 Teach Others About Your Work Or Faith
When you reach out to others, there is something wonderful being felt by those who have been taught and those doing the teaching. Many people find that they can touch the lives of many by simply posting a comment or two each day about something inspirational. You have the ability to make someone laugh with your wit or make someone think deep with the use of your wisdom.
#7 Generate Traffic And Make Money
Even though you are not selling anything directly from the Twitter site, you can make use of it as a way to bring in more people. You can generate more traffic to a site of yours, gain more associates, and most importantly make more money. Use it as much or as little as you would like. You will see that with enough dedication you will be able to earn a good bit of money by using the tools available to you, such as Twitter.
To learn how to make money utilizing Twitter and related tools, check out Twitter Traffic Machine.
Building My New Website
July 6, 2009 by Stacy42 · 2 Comments
Introduction
The term ‘Web Design’ creates a lot of confusion and misunderstanding. The word design suggests graphics and layout so many people think that’s what designing a website is all about. Most people think that website design is very simple, all you need to do is install the company logo, add the relevant wording, decide on the arrangement of the pages and that’s it.
Well I am about to shock you by outlining the many complicated processes involved in web design. Think of it this way; when an architect designs a house all we see is the way he lays out the rooms, how the available space is arranged. We normally do not concern ourselves with the amount of technical detail that goes into the design. The architect has to work out the stresses on the walls and the weight of the roof. If there are fireplaces he has to know about draughts and the shape of chimney for it to do the job. He has to plan heating systems, plumbing systems, drainage and sewage, what type of windows to use, door fittings and many other details so that when it’s finally complete the overall effect is pleasing and suitable for the purpose intended. Web design is similar. A customer may have an idea of the layout of the website but will need the services of the Web Designer to make it all happen.
Stages in the Process
There are many items to be decided on before even starting to build a website. Some of the important questions to consider are:
Once the webmaster has the answers to these questions then she can start the process of designing the site to give you what you want.
Target Audience
What sort of people are going to visit the new website? Are your customers likely to be businesses, sales people, home owners, parents, teenagers or children and so on?
Objectives of the Website
Is the website to be used to sell products on line, or to market your business to get leads for new customers? Maybe you wanted it to be an online brochure to showcase your services. Balloons for trade have a website for resellers only so that they can look up the products before placing an order. Because there is no selling on line there are no contact details on the site. You may want to use the website to foster a community to be in contact with other like minded people. You would need a design that incorporates a chat rooms and online discussions.
Being found on the Web
I work in a Nottingham web design company and one of the things my boss always makes me ask the client is how you want your website to be found on the search engines. This involves a whole process of establishing keywords for your products or services. The first step is a search of key words in the industry. Finding the best keywords is vital if you want to be in the top ten listed in Google. By using a keyword research tool you can find the single most popular keyword; the one everyone puts in. For example people looking for a vacuum cleaner might type in Hoover although this is in fact a brand name.
Domain Names
Domain names can be the hardest part of setting up your website, because nearly every name you come up with will most certainly have been registered already. By far the most popular are domain names ending in .com as they are internationally recognised. For that reason alone the majority of shorter names will already have been registered.
Choosing names with endings such as .net; .co.uk .org .info may provide you with the domain name of your preference. When choosing your domain name it is a good idea to include one or more of your keywords. Although the name of your business may be the obvious choice for a Domain Name, it is not necessarily the only option.
So as you can see choosing domain names and keywords right at the beginning of the project will determine how the site is constructed so that it is suitable for the purpose required.
A brand new domain name space has just been created.
Companies can now apply for their name in this brand new .tel name space and it is intended to replace the telephone directory. When the domain name is viewed in your web browser it will provide the companies details and telephone number.
Creating a Site Map
It is very important to have a site map to outline the pages on your website, e-commerce website or forum space. It shows the design and flow through the website so that when selling on line, items work in order such as; adding product to basket, entering delivery and billing address and on to making credit card payment. The site map helps to identify how user friendly the website is so that there are no difficulties in getting onto the site. Often the user name and password are set for the customer so there is no hindrance to achieving the initial sale.
Non e-commerce sites are easier because it is possible to receive enquiries by email, without publishing the email address on the website. By using a contact form you will avoid spam and also validate the information before you receive it. The aim is to create a balance between discouraging junk mail, and making it easy for the enquirer to use the site.
Links
An important consideration when designing a website are links. These can be links to other pages of content within your website, and links within the content of your website in the text, as well as links from the menu. Consideration has to be given to whether the links will open in a new window so you still have your original page open or will the new window replace the previous one.
The Copy
The copy is the words and visuals you want on your website. Having made decisions about the target market and relevant links, along with the keywords and using the site map information, the next stage is to decide what imagery you want displayed. A picture speaks a thousand words and remains in people’s memory far longer than just words. So images are important to reach your audience. Each image needs a caption which is the ‘most read’ words on the page after the title. The caption of an image need to be clickable so that when you click on a picture it takes you to the next stage of the sales process.
Design
The final design of the website is often the most challenging stage of the process because it’s subjective. In a large corporation, many people from various departments will have an input for their division. Everyone has their own ideas of what they think the site should look like and trying to gain a consensus can be a nightmare because not everybody will agree on the same things.
If you are setting up an ecommerce web design project just for yourself then you will probably have a clear idea of what you want to see on the site.
Even then unless your ideas are workable in the medium, you may have difficulty getting something you like. Firstly to achieve a good design it is recommended you review other websites and find out what you like or dislike about them. Look at competitor’s websites to make sure your design will be an improvement on what is already in the market place.
Once you have done that you will need to create a design brief. The design brief should have a reference to the logo and any existing brand guidelines, colour schemes and fonts adding in any other relevant information.
Having done a design brief look for an experienced graphic designer. Choose your designer carefully, finding one who designs specifically for screen and the web to achieve the very best results. Beware of choosing a graphic designer who designs for different discipline such as print as they are very different processes. Look at other works the designer has done and decide whether or not you like their style.
Using several graphic designers is the best option if you are working in the big time and budget allows. Give each designer the same brief and request three concept designs from each one. The client might also do a design, even if it’s a scribble on the back of an envelope, there will then be ten concept designs. Get everyone together and choose the preferred elements from each design. Once the items you want are selected choose one graphic designer to workup the final artwork.
All parties need to agree on the final artwork before building of the site begins. Consideration should be give to the fonts used for the titles and buttons etc. Fonts have to be licensed so if the designer has not supplied something then the developer will need a copy of the fonts to achieve the task. Professional graphic designers will usually provide the artworks in a layered Photoshop file so if titles are not going to be in plain text get the designer to also supply the fonts.
Production
At last all the ground work has been done and the site is ready to go into production. This is where it gets technical! You may not want to go into the detail in which case leave it to your Web Master to choose for you. There have to be decisions about what language to use, either Unix or Windows based, to build the website. Each have advantages and disadvantages with multiple variants but sites such as Ebay, Facebook, Google as well as other well known websites are built on Unix. Your website has to be built with the development language of your web host provider so that they are compatible.
Accessiblity and Compliance
These are current standards for website development to insure that disabled users, such as the visually impaired, can still access all sections of the website.
Development
Development of the website is best done on the web server where the site will reside. Those involved in reviewing the work can then monitor work in progress and provide comments throughout the development.
Unforeseen Items
As the site building progresses the customer suddenly thinks of something they must have. No matter how well the web master prepares and asks the client the right questions, there are always some last minute adjustments to the programme. The main aim is to minimise last minute additions because they aren’t calculated in and will generate extra costs and cause delays to the date of the website going live.
Going live
At last your site is up and running and you see the results of all the planning that has gone into the whole process. There is no substitute for real world testing so as soon as the site is live ask your friends and colleagues to view the website from their own computers and give comments.
Marketing
Once the site is up and running it’s time to turn your attention to marketing your products by submitting the site to the search engines, writing articles, and press releases and generating links from forums, blogs and other social networking spaces.
Reporting and Monitoring
Stats from your newest web design are invaluable to let you determine the success of the project.
Use a reliable statistics package such as Google Analytics or Web-Stat.com to collect and review website visitor data. All you will need is a small block of code inserted into each web page on your site to collect visitor information to help you assess the success of your products in near real time. Web-stat.com also monitors the website and alerts you by email and text message if the site goes down.
Conclusion
The title ‘Web Design’ is a bit misleading in that people often assume it means the graphic design on the home page and the branding of the product. Unless you are a computer expert, most people do not realise the amount of work that goes into designing and building of a website. Clients are not aware of the amount of complicated technical work necessary to build the systems that support what they want the website to do. In such a complex process anything that gets tacked on at the end will end up incurring more cost to your budget.
The depth of initial questioning is an indicator of how competent your Web Master will be. Every aspect of the construction has to be decided upon before you even start the design. These things may sound very technical to us non techies but it is essential for the Web Master to find out exactly what is required so that everything can be costed accurately and built into the design from the beginning.