What happened to that approach of keeping things simple "KISS" The keep it simple method has been replaced with Flash, Java or image intensive and fast moving bulky sites that detract from the subject. They take forever to load to your screen, and thats on a quick connection, Here at DoGG-WebDesign we are building simple eye catching websites that are effective, catch your audience's eye and send the right message.
Obviously there are times when you need lots of images, flashy imagery, dynamic images or a lot of content, however with a little thought and structure this can be accomplished with minimal fuss, while retaining a clean open design.
You open the page and what do you see? Not much more than a text input box!
Nine times out of ten, you can get your point across with a simple, award winning, eye catching website. And the fact that you have about 30seconds to capture the average viewers attention before they head for the back button you need to capture your web audiences eye, otherwise they are looking for the back button, or typing in the browser search bar again.
have you ever heard of above the fold?...... OK think of when you are at the newsagent and all the newspapers are sitting on the floor or shelf, where ever they happen to be. What you can see visible on the newspaper is above the fold, this is the bit you can see without picking up and unfolding the paper (This is for those big newspapers) A lot of the newspapers have gone to the half size now and one reason is for the reason illustrated in this example. Advertising on the top half of the newspaper is considerably more expensive than the bottom half, so why have below the fold, no body sees it unless they pick it up, unfold it and read it. So take a look around, no scroll bar on the side unless you have a tiny monitor. but not alays can we get all the info on a single screen like this. So like this text area, you have scrolling content. if there's enough interest to be reading, scrolling comes natural and they will scroll down.....BUT IF THEY DO, YOU ALREADY HAVE THEIR ATTENTION!!!
Back to using Google as an example, Google has aguably "THE IDEAL DESIGN" For a search engine..... A Well laid out page thats very simple. It's direct and it does what you ask of it, and it's super quick. Obviously around the page these days there is a lot of links and extra's but the majority of the page remains open, clean and to the point, deffinately a win for them, they still hold a massive 63.3% of the search engine market and thats up 4% for same period in 2008.....and its easy to see why.
However it is horses for courses. I have seen directories (yellow page style web sites) that have tried the whole google-like front page, and while it works for google, a website/web service that is well known> Websites that are not well known, require some more information on them, especially your landing page. Images do this well when they are used wisely, there's no point in a really nice graphic designed image/s unless they portray the right message, otherwise people look at it think thats nice and then re-evaluate why they are on the page
At DoGG-WebDesign we specialise in custom website design. An approach thats smart, to the point and simple. The most effective websites on the Internet today are the ones that portray your business or organisation quickly and effectively. They need to deliver outstanding customer experience - what ever your purpose.
At DoGG-WebDesign we understand that the key to success on the internet is to provide a crisp clear image of who you are to your internet traffic, and set your site up to attrack the right web traffic, after all, it is no good having people browsing for furniture in a fish and chips shop.
So with this in mind, lets keep your websites simpl. Search engines are so smart these days that if your audience has come from a search engine, they will mostly be landing on web page that is what they are looking for. And if your webpage audience has come from an advert, refferal or some other marketing then chances are they are looking for something in particular. So its important to make it easy to find. Whether it be images of your work or maybe your prices, or a way to contact you, each of these things can be broken down into there own pages and if your sites laid out well, they will be found quickly, keeping your customers impressed at the business, you hope they pick.