There are key principles that a web designer and developer needs to draw upon to ensure the marketability of a business through their online presence. With over 644 million active websites online today it’s increasingly important that web design is extremely well considered as part of a company’s marketing campaign.
With over 60% of consumers and up to 75% of clients using the internet to find what they are looking for, it is vital that your business and the overall company ethos is reflected in your website and is cohesive, strong and tailored directly to the needs of the users.
A website is not only a trading and information platform, it can also represent the image of an enterprise and a good website design is key to securing a loyal customer base and ensuring credibility.
When approaching a web design strategy for your next marketing campaign here are some key features
(a whole alphabet full) that you and your web designer might want to consider and be aware of.
The A-Z Guide of Web Design in Marketing Campaigns
Analytics
Even if your website is exquisitely designed it doesn’t guarantee that your website will automatically be popular. In order for a website to be successful its performance must be reviewed so that you can determine how users are interacting with the content. Web site statistics can be monitored through the use of Analytics and Google offer a platform that you can build into your website for free. Here you can check who is visiting your site, follow their site path and acknowledge where they leave this site. This can provide vital details that will help assist you to get the most from your online presence.
Branding
Every interaction that a user has with your business is a potential opportunity to build equity. This is why it is important to have a cohesive and relatable brand that people can recognise and understand without having to spend too much time trying to figure it out. If your brand is well-connected throughout your web design and digital marketing strategy, you are likely to be considered more trusted and professional.
Compatibility
Your website needs to be accessible to Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Chrome and Safari and their various different versions in order to reach the widest audience base possible.Statistics show that 95% of the digital world is based on these five browsers, therefore by ensure compatibility you are heightening your chance of success.
Demographics
One of the first things to consider when approaching web design in a marketing campaign is identifying who your clients and customers are, what interests them and how to tailor your content in order to engage them with your business.
E-Shots
An e-shot is a direct digital marketing method, which uses e-mail to contact a database of contacts. This is a quick and relatively cheap way to offer personalised information and keep your clients in the loop.
Favicon
A favicon (shortened term for favourites icon) is a thumbnail version of your logo that appears in the URL bar and in the tabs of your internet browser. This Favicon should be designed as a small version of your logo, that is still recognisable and cohesive with the company branding.
Geo IP
We offer Geo IP within our web design service. It is something that is particularly useful for ecommerce websites as it can provide users with a unique experience, allowing them to locate a business in relation to the location of their current position, acquired via their computer IP address.
Homepage
The homepage of a website is important in being the first port of call for directing and informing potential clients or customers. The homepage is effectively the face of your website and should summarise your brand, your services and your CTA in a well designed and easy navigable design.
Infographics
Infographics are graphic visual representations of information designed to capture attention and inform the reader in interesting, manageable chunks.
Java-script
Javascript is a text-language most commonly used as part of web browsers, whose implementations allow scripts to interact with a user, while controlling and communicating with the browser and being able to alter the content that is displayed.
Keywords
Keyword research is very important and a valuable asset within your marketing campaign. It is one of the most important, and high return activities in the search marketing field and one way to increase your SEO. Ranking for the right keywords is vital especially if you are in business with wide-spread competition.
Logo Design
Creating a consistent brand identity is extremely important for any marketing campaign and a logo design is a vital part of the overall picture. The logo is essentially the glue that holds together the overall theme of the design and a strong logo can be the memorable stamp that seals the reputation of your website and your company.
Mobile Friendliness
Since the 21st April 2015 release of Googles mobile friendly algorithm web designers have been even more inclined to make sure websites are developed to the correct standard across all devices. The algorithm affects searches from mobile and can improve or decrease your mobile SEO ranking.
Newsletters
Digital newsletters containing your company branding are a great way to keep clients interested in your product/service/company. These newsletters should be designed in the same tone of voice of the whole company offering insights into your business without over-indulging.
Optimisation
Vector images are ideally suited for website designs as they can be rendered at any resolution without losing any sharpness. When optimising raster images you are posed with a bigger challenge as they image data is encoded on a per-pixel basis. The larger number of pixels the larger the file size will be, which is sometimes a problem when uploading images to a server. The other thing to consider when uploading images to your website, is to ensure you are optimising them for web when exporting from Photoshop.
Page Length
Web design trends come and go like the seasons and one that is regularly reoccurring is the one page scrolling website. These can be very beautifully designed and fun to navigate however when so much information is crammed into one space, page load time can become slow which is the ultimate no go when trying to attract potential clients or customers. Every second you can cut off your loading time will boost the confidence and trust users have in your site.
Quality
Quality over quantity is extremely important in web design, specifically when considering your marketing campaigns. It is important to highlight important information and ensure that the user doesn’t have to trawl through endless pages of bumf to find a service or product they are looking for. Information should be succinct and well written. It is also important that images are as high quality as the content – pixelated images can make you look scrappy and unprofessional.
Responsive
Responsive website design ensures that your business can be viewed correctly across all devices and browsers without comprising content. A responsive website can also contribute to an overall better UX, whilst influencing analytics and SEO.
SEO
SEO is firstly the practice of ensuring your website is ranking well on search engines. This is where you can build a strategy to enhance your business performance and get yourself ahead of the competition. We can offer you an SEO report on how well your website is ranking and how to improve your statistics.
Typography
Typography is the art of arranging fonts in a particular style in order to draw attention to a word or phrase. Used regularly in logo design these days and often the main asset in website design. Web designers often use typography in addition to photography on a webpage in order to highlight certain chunks of information.It is also something that has to be approached with care; choice of font size, style and colour can dramatically affect the design of your website.
Usability
Web usability is based on how efficient, effective and User friendly your website it. Usability is measured by UX and the process and design used to develop the website and the adaptability of a company in creating a user friendly design. There are usability standards that all web design and development professionals should adhere to, specifically now as technologies are rapidly advancing.
Video
Video is an extremely strong marketing tool and a significant factor in engaging users and communicating complex details. Video can make your business seem more approachable and responsive to new technologies. Video also needs to be consistant with your brand and offer and quality is important if you want your business to be taken seriously.
Web Banners
Web banners today are more than a simple image with a slogan places at the top of your website. With technologies such as JQuery, banners are now much more complex and can be ads with text, animated graphics and sound. Most commerce-related web sites use banner ads.
XML, HTML, CSS
All web designers and developers must have a strong understanding of the text mark-up languages like XML, HTML and CSS in order to build web pages. HTML is the foundation of a web page whilst CSS is the language used to edit the style. Understanding the basics of HTML and CSS will help your designer build better websites and gaining knowledge of XML allows your to understand what makes web pages function.
YouTube
Using social media platforms such as YouTube within the wider context of a website can introduce more traffic and help to attract interest in your brand/ business.
Zip-file
ZIP is an archive file format that can be uploaded to a server. Meaning you can offer downloadable content via zip files to gives your clients the opportunity to feel as though they are getting something back from your company. This is particularly useful if you would like to offer product information or perhaps a tutorial type document, or maybe even just free downloads to further engage clients in what you are offering.
So there you have it the Reactive Graphics A-Z Guide of Web design in Marketing Campaigns. These are just a few points (26 in fact) that you should consider when deciding your next move to increase your online businesses value.
If you would like Reactive Graphics to offer assistance on your next project then please get in touch.
Or if you would like to view our portfolio of work or our services you can visit our website here.
