How to create unique websites with web templates?
Web templates are raw materials that need to be refurnished/edited to be published online. Editing web-templates could include content insertion, graphic insertion/modification, inserting company logo, changing styles, changing links, changing flash images etc. Editing is quite easy but in case you feel otherwise you can always make use of template customization services that most template providers offer at affordable costs. Some template providers like (http://www.buytemplates.net) offer affordable customization services irrespective of where you actually purchased the template from. This article discusses the techniques that you can use to edit your web templates effectively to create unique looking websites.
Editing website templates effectively
For editing web templates all you would require is an html editor like Dreamweaver, Photoshop, FrontPage or Go-live. Most of these html editors are WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) kind and have a user friendly interface. You can do two types of editing to your web-templates. One is content editing and the other is graphics editing.
1.) Editing the content of your web templates
The template provider would have supplied you with an index.html' file along with your template. This is the file that you would require for editing content of your templates. You can edit content using a text editor or an html editor software program.
Editing using text editors
Editing using text editors is the best possible way to edit your templates. This will ensure that your html coding remains clean and no unnecessary junk code is added. But of course you need to be some what conversant with Html to hand code your templates. Notepad is probably the most well-known of all text editors. Other than Notepad some other good and advanced text editors are editpad (editpadpro.com), NoteTab Light (notetab.com), and arachnophilia (arachnoid.com/arachnophilia/index.html).
Editing using Html editors
Making use of an html editor is probably the easiest way of editing templates and would be useful to those who are not conversant with html. Most html editors are user friendly and have an easy-to-use interface. Some well known html web template editors are Dreamweaver, FrontPage and Go-live. To edit content of the template, all that you would need to do is load the index.html file in an editor. After that you can simply cut and paste your content where the dummy content is provided and you are done. Adding content would also include changing links, adding content to tags and changing image sources if required.
Handy tips for content editing
1.) Make sure to change the title of all pages. The title can be a keyword or words that are most repeated in your content. It can also be a description of your webpage. For instance you can use Florida tourism' as the title for a webpage related to tourism in Florida.
2.) Change alt text of images and keep the alter text as a keyword. Search engines don't read images but they do ready the Alt texts. For instance you can use the tag Florida beach' for a Florida beach image.
3.) Make sure to add proper anchor text to all your links. Anchor texts are given special importance in search engines.
4.) Give proper headings to all your pages. Heading can contain specific keywords. Headings are given using h1, h2, h3 .. h6' tags. Text with-in heading tags are given more value by search bots.
5.) Be sure to check for spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, broken links and misspellings before loading the site
7.) Provide contact information.
2.) Editing images and graphics
Editing images would involve changing image colors, add/remove image layers, add/change text used in images etc. In order to make changes to the images used in the web template you would need to use the PSD file. Almost all template providers would supply you with a PSD file (although some may charge you extra for the file). PSD file is basically a layered file that is created using Adobe PhotoShop. This file is compatible with many graphic editing programs. Some good programs that can be used to edit PSD files are Jasc Paint Shop Pro 7, Ulead PhotoImpact 7 & 8, ImageReady and of course Photoshop. For more information on PSD files you can visit adobe.com.
In case you don't have access to any of the above mentioned software programs for editing the templates, you may request your web template provider to give you BMP files instead of PSD files. A BMP file is a high quality bitmap image file that can be edited using any image editing software program.
Handy tips
1.) Change the color of images to suite and enhance your text visibility
2.) If needed you can also replace images used in the templates to add your own professional images. (One good website from where you can get professional images is gettyimages.com')
3.) Editing the styles of a template
CSS style sheets are the ones that allow you to make changes to the style of the webpage like changing font color, line and paragraph spacing, font size, link color etc. Style sheets are useful as they allow you to make changes to many WebPages by altering one document. CSS can be edited using any Html editor or text editor. Although there are some specialized programs available that are meant specifically for editing CSS Stylesheets like TopStyle' (bradsoft.com).
There are many web template providers who offer internal style sheets or multiple font styles. It is difficult to edit internal style sheets and therefore is not recommended. Always make sure to go for template providers who offer you with external CSS Style Sheets.
Handy tips
1.) Make sure to use contrasting text and background colors
2.) Make sure to use same font type through out a webpage. Making use of different font types can make reading difficult. Arial and veranda are best suited for online reading.
3.) Never use justification for your text as it can make reading difficult.
4.) Provide a site map
Quality tutorials to help you with HTML
If you are not familiar with html/CSS and need some start up lessons then there are plenty of free resources available over the internet that will allow you to do just that. Some of the best ones are w3cschools.com' and webmonkey.com'. W3cschools offers the best tutorials for html where as webmonkey offers the best tutorial for CSS Style-sheets (just type Mulder's Stylesheets Tutorial' in a search engine like google or yahoo! to reach directly to the tutorial page). For getting knowledge about web usability you can refer to (http://www.usability.gov/guidelines)'. For researching keywords for your website content you can refer wordtracker.com or overtune.com.
22 Essential Pages to include on Your Website
Wondering what pages to include on your website and why? Here is a list of important information that should be included on your site.
Before you start thinking about what to write, it is important that you create a plan, which outlines what each page will contain. That way you won't repeat yourself or forget vital information. The most common pages on successful websites include:
1. Home Page (First Page)
This is your *sales* page and should provide information about what you can do for your customers. It should also give your visitors a brief overview of what they can find on your site.
2. Products / Services
It is useful to have a separate page for each product/service and write as much detail about each as possible. Start each page with a brief summary of the product/service, then provide whatever information you can. If the page appears too long, you can always break it into more pages. When people are searching for information on the internet, they want to know it NOW. They don't want to wait until tomorrow when they can speak to you on the phone. The more information you can provide about your products/services, the better.
3. Contact Us
Place contact details in as many places as possible. Make it easy for your customers to contact you. Create a special *Contact Us* page, include your details in *About Us* page and also at the bottom of each page. Information to include: business name, physical address, mailing address, telephone, fax, email, emergency number, website address.
4. Pricing
Whenever possible include the price of your products/services. Even if you can't be specific. It is helpful to put at least a range of prices, eg. Carpet cleaning ranges between $40 - $60 per room.
5. Testimonials / Product Reviews / Before & After
Include testimonials from your current customer to show your potential clients that you are trustworthy, reliable and that you offer great service and/or products. Make sure the testimonials are real and if possible provide contact details
of the person who supplied you with the testimonial. If you don't have any right now, get them! Simply email your customers and ask for their feedback on your business and service. Most happy customers will gladly provide this.
You could also include before and after photos. Show the problem picture and beside it show the picture of resolution, with an explanation of your product's benefits.
6. Frequently Asked Questions
This has proven to be a great time saver for many companies. Instead of having to answer the same questions over and over again, place them on your website and keep adding to them. The more information you have on your website, the less time you will need to spend answering questions by email or phone.
Frequently Asked Questions should address your customer's concerns that may otherwise be an obstacle to making a sale.
7. Response form such as *Subscribe* or *Enquiry* form
An absolute must if you want to build a mailing list. Most people don't like giving out too much information, so ask only the basics, such as Name and Email Address. Then keep in touch with your customers on a regular basis by sending out information that may be of interest to them. You may even wish to develop your own on-line magazine (ezine). There are many fantastic free or inexpensive programs that can handle this for you. We will discuss these in more detail in future articles.
8. On-line Magazine or Newsletter
This is a great marketing tool. Not only does it help you keep in touch with your customers, but provides your website with fresh content. You can set up your Ezine in 2 different ways:
1. Email subscribers on a regular basis or
2. Publish it on your website. Or both. Include information about your business, industry or anything that may be of interest to your customers.
9. Resources/Articles
Add value to your business. Provide information that is complementary to what you do. For example, if you sell wedding dresses include information about reception venues, wedding planners, wedding cakes, flowers. By adding extra information you encourage more hits.
10. About Us
This is a very important page as it tells your customer about who you are and why they should buy your products, services and/or trust your organization. It can also feature your business hours (if you have a bricks and mortar store) or when they can speak to someone live. Many companies also include their mission or purpose on this page, details of their staff (photos, biographies, qualifications), recently completed projects. Other information to include: ACN or ABN, logo, directions to your store/office.
11. Guarantee
Offer a money back guarantee. The longer the guarantee, the more effective it will be. It could be 30 days, 60 days, 1 year or lifetime.
12. Survey
Find out what customers think about your website, business or product.
13. Events Calendar
This can relate to your business or industry. If you are an artist, you can feature dates where and when your art will be displayed or if you are a singer, where you will be performing.
14. Search My Website Feature
Some visitors to your side may not know exactly what they want but if you include a search function on your site, they can look for it very easily. Like search engines, this feature will allow your visitors to type in a word or phrase and then search for it on your site. It's like having your own mini search engines, only instead of it searching the world wide web, it just searches your website.
15. Return/Refund Policy
To make your customers feel more comfortable when making a transaction at your website, you should provide then with your return/refund policy. Ensure it is easy to understand and spelt out step by step.
16. Privacy Policy
Privacy continues to be a major issue for customers shopping online. Concerns about how their information is going to be used is a major barrier when making a sale. Internet shopping experience is built on trust and privacy is the number one ingredient in trust.
17. Site Map
A site map is similar to a contents. It shows visitors how the site is laid out and which sections are where.
18. Copyright Information
Your website should carry a copyright notice to protect its intellectual property. It is generally in the form of *Copyright © 2004, Your Company Name*.
19. Links
Here you can place links to the manufacturers of your products,btrade associations or complementary services. When you place links to other businesses, you can request they do the same for you. This will not only bring you more visitors, but may improve your search engine ranking.
20. Media Information
Include any information, articles, photos of your products, staff etc that have appeared in the media - print, TV, radio or internet.
21. News
This can include news about your products/services or about your industry.
22. On-line store
An on-line store allows you sell products directly on the internet 24 hours a day/7 days a week. When building an online store it is important to take in a number of key concepts.
- Make sure that when visitors arrive at your store the navigational mechanisms are simple and effective
- The actual process of placing the order must be simple
- Make sure you accept common and convenient methods of payment
- Continually test your store so you understand your customer's shopping experience
50 Surefire Web Design Tips
Tips to brand your website
Include your logo in all pages. Position it at the top left or each page. Complement your logo with a tagline or catchy sentence that summarizes your business purpose. For example "Always low prices" is the tagline for Wal-Mart.
Create a favicon. A favicon is that small graphic that appears next to the URL in the address bar.
Have a consistent look and feel in all your pages. Use a color scheme and layout that are clearly recognized across your site.
Have an About Us section, that includes all relevant information about you and your business.
Include a copyright statement at the bottom of each page.
Tips on website navigation
Design your pages to load in less than 10 seconds (50Kb maximum size, including pictures).
Group your navigational options in relevant categories.
Use common names for your menu options: Home, About Us, Contact Us, Help, Products. Avoid "clever" or "trendy" alternatives.
If your site uses Flash, provide also an HTML version for users who prefer a less fancy, faster site.
Provide simple text navigation links at the bottom of long pages, so users don't need to scroll back up.
Link your logo to your homepage, except in the homepage itself. Put a link to your homepage on all your internal pages.
Display a "breadcrumb trail"; it is basically the path from the homepage to the page where you are. A breadcrumb trail looks like this: Home > Section > Sub-Section > Page, and it greatly facilitates navigation.
If your site is too big, provide Search capabilities. Include a search box in the upper right corner of your homepage, and a link to a Search page from your interior pages. Freefind ( ) offers you a free and powerful search engine for your site.
Set your search box to search your site, not to search the web.
Create a custom error page that displays a simple site map with links to the main sections of your site. That way, you will not lose visitors that have followed a bad link to your site or who have misspelled your URL.
Tips on Layout and Content Presentation
Save the top of your page for your most important content. Remember: good content must flow to the top.
Lay out your page with tables, and set the width in percentage terms instead of a fixed number of pixels. That way, your page will always fit the screen, without the need to scroll horizontally.
Optimize your page to be viewed best at 800x600 (the most popular resolution at the time of this writing).
Use high contrast for the body of your page: black text on white background, or white text on black background work best.
Don't use too many different fonts in one page. Also, avoid using small serif fonts (like Times Roman): they are difficult to read from a computer screen. Verdana is the most web-friendly font, since it is wide, clean and easy to read.
Avoid long blocks of text. Use tools that facilitate scanability, like bullets, subtitles, highlighted keywords, hyperlinks, etc.
Avoid amateurish features like: numeric page counters, wholesale use of exclamation points, all caps, center justified blocks of text, excessive animated gifs, busy backgrounds, etc.
Don't use pop-up windows. They distract your visitors and are immediately dismissed as ads.
Test your site so that it looks good in different browsers and resolutions.
Tips on Writing for the Web
Write in layman's terms so that everybody can understand your content, unless you're running a technical site for technical people.
Reading from a screen is painful: use 50% less words than you would use on print.
If a page is too long, break it into several pages and link to them.
Don't use font sizes smaller than 10pt. for the body of your page. Specify your fonts in percentage terms instead of pixels, to let users set their own size preferences using their browser's text view options.
Use a spell checker. Spelling mistakes are embarrassing and hurt credibility.
Tips to Know Your Customers
Ask for feedback: include a feedback form in your Contact Us page.
Publish an ezine and include a subscription form in your homepage. Give your customers valuable information and encourage them to contact you.
Include polls and other tools to gather market intelligence.
Tips on Linking
Make your links descriptive. They should indicate what the user will be linking to, as opposed to just saying "click here".
Don't underline anything that is not a link.
Underline your links and use a consistent color for them across your site (preferably blue).
Use a different color for visited links, so that your visitors know where they've been (preferably purple or a more subdued tone of the unvisited links color).
When linking to a non-HTML file, such as Excel, Word or Acrobat, make it evident, by including a small icon next to the link.
Don't link to "under construction" pages.
Make sure that your links work and that you don't have broken links. There are free online tools that can help you with this.
If you use graphic links, don't forget to use the ALT attribute. The ALT attribute should describe what are you linking to.
Tips on how to use graphics
Optimize your graphics. Use only .gif and .jpg formats. Make your image files as small as possible while maintaining acceptable quality. Use a free online graphics optimization tool.
Use thumbnails (miniature versions of a picture) and make them clickable to the actual size picture.
Avoid graphics that look like ads. People ignore them.
Use the ALT attribute on pictures, even the image is not a link. It helps users with disabilities and people who have turned off graphics.
Tips to optimize your site for the search engines:
Create short, descriptive page titles, to entice search engine users to click on your links.
Create a site map containing all your pages, and link to it directly from your homepage. Search engine robots will follow the link to your site map and will most likely add all your pages to the index.
Decide what the two or three main keywords are for each page (the words you believe search engine users will type to find your page) and repeat them often in your page title, description meta tag and page body.
Create a Links page and call it Resources. In it, place links to those sites that have agreed to place a reciprocal link to your page. The more inbound links you have from quality sites with a topic related to your site, the better your site will rank with the search engines.
Use more text than graphics, and minimize the use of Flash and JavaScript. Search engines heavily favor text and will crawl and index your site faster.
Mario Sanchez publishes The Internet Digest (http://www.theinternetdigest.net), an online collection of web design and Internet marketing articles and resources.
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