Web Designing , Site Development & E-Commerce

ECommerce Summary

Perhaps the most fascinating thing about eCommerce is the sheer size of the opportunity and how quickly the industry has developed.

Back in the dinosaur ages of the Internet (1994), there was no such thing as real time credit card transactions. In those days, you had to make your purchase over the telephone or via email and your order would be processed offline.

Thankfully times have changed.

Instead of sending cheques via the post, customers can now make instant payments and businesses can get their money almost quickly.

However, even through the technology has rapidly progressed; the fundamental rules of eCommerce remain the same.

To generate sales on your website you still need to do two things:

1. Drive quality traffic to your website.

2. Have a sales system in place to convert browsers into buyers
Without these two components, the process of collecting the money (eCommerce) is irrelevant.

And that's why many eCommerce sites fail - they jump the gun by worrying about all the 'bells and whistles' before developing a plan to generate traffic to their site.
Clearly, the most successful eCommerce sites are not the ones that just come up with a great 'idea' but the ones that build their businesses around a pre-existing demand in the marketplace.

Web Design - Is It An Art?

Web design is an art. There’s no question about that. The question is: how many websites designed by real web designers are out there? With the amount of crap that purely invades the Internet and suffocates the users nowadays, there are serious reasons to doubt that web design is an art in its own right.

So called web designers make terrible made for AdSense sites, or those awful personal pages that have nothing to say. But the Internet is a World and you must expect to find, as in the real world, tones of nonsense and digital rubbish. Such websites have no real value, are full of grammatical errors, respect no design techniques, blend colors, fonts and graphics irrationally, display flashy banners, annoying gifs and so on. Sites like these make people believe that it is ok to put up a website even if it is lousy. Anyone can start a website, but, can anyone design a website? Obviously not, since new websites appear online every day that are not good at all.

Web design combines traditional arts with technical skills. A web designer is not just a web coder: he or she is an artist able to understand the value of image and other visual elements, and knows what impact these might have on the viewers. The web designer works with images and words to make the perfect web layout. To make rare websites, the kind of websites that really add value to the World Wide Web, skilled web designers use various tools. They might retouch pictures and graphics or make astonishing images using programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Jasic Paint, and Photo Impact and so on. They might use 3D software or Flash to design dramatic layouts that will transport the visitors into another world. No matter what tools they employ, professional web designers make functional, astonishing web pages.

Don’t believe that web design, as an art, is not for business, corporate or informative websites. As a matter of fact they require it the most. While business and informational websites don’t need to be artistic, they need to inspire. Corporate websites need clear designs, simple layouts so that any visitor could access the information fast and understand the purpose of the website. To make a website that sends the right message and develops brand awareness in an agreeable manner is an art. A good website can sell a service or goods, but this doesn’t mean that its appearance must fade. Compare a website to a car: you need it to transport your visitors through a space full of information. You don’t want them to be bored by what you have to offer. You want to entertain them, to mesmerize their minds, to make them come back. What it will be: a Hollywood like limousine or a second hand car? Yes, it’s true: it’s not the car that matters, but the ride. However, when you travel in an uncomfortable seat you might not enjoy the ride. And doesn’t anyone dream for a first-class ticket?

After all this being said, you do not have to hire a web designer to build a great site in today’s online world. Web design is an art, but with the advent of the new high power website builders, anyone can make a high quality website for a fraction of the cost of employing a web designer. This is especially true of web building programs that are template driven.

Online web building programs using this “template driven” technology allow the user to make their website using professionally designed templates. This means the “art” of web design has already been done. The user simply chooses their template, adds their own content and photos, and in a matter of hours or days, a HIGH QUALITY website is made!

Don’t be fooled. Not all website builders are the same. Ensure you use a website builder that includes ecommerce capabilities without an additional charge. One such program is High Power Sites.

In conclusion: You can hire a skilled, talented web designer to make your business website but you will pay a high price as web designers are not cheap. Or you can use a top notch web building program for a fraction of the cost. You’ll need to pay the price for either one, but high quality websites don’t come cheap. If you are serious about doing business online, you must invest in your website. The future belongs to those that give for quality on the World Wide Web.

While designing or redesigning a web site the most vital part of the task happens before any graphics or codes are made.

Start by deciding the principal goals of your web site. Are you using it to sell your goods or services? Maybe it's planned simply to advertise your offline business, provide support to your existing customers or build your company brand. Whatever the goals are, clearly defining them ahead of time will better guide you in the actual web site design course.

Next, remember that first impressions mean everything. Your Web Site Design should be professional and portray the right image for your business. Most web site surfers decide within seconds of reaching your main web page if they will browse deeper into your site or click away to another. Studies have shown that this decision is generally made based on the appeal of the web site design rather than the text copy. This means that your web site design has to grab their attention and convince them that you're offering something of value fast.