One of the first steps in the design process is content – building a sitemap. This is an important step, because it will influence many of the design decisions at the beginning. For example, how many pages is the site going to need? Will this amount of pages require special navigation? Drop-down menus? By outlining the content and pages in a website, the designer is then able to judge what layouts will work better with the site, and begin the next step in the process.

Wireframes are a popular method most design companies use at the beginning stages of Web design. Essentially, these are grey-toned boxes that designers use to make decisions regarding margins, content area, navigation and general layout of the website.

The next step begins the actual design process. This will involve choices such as a color palette (which may be influenced by things like current company branding and logo) as well as font and typeface. At this stage, the designer has a clear idea of the general layout, and will focus on making the design shine. This may be the first part of the process where the client is shown the initial comps, which will then lead to revisions.

Revisions may or may not be an arduous process, depending on how the client feels about the success of the initial designs. Once the client and the designer agree upon a design choice, the interior and specialty pages of the website will be built based upon the original design. Normally, websites will have a specific layout for a homepage, and the interior pages will follow that design, but with an emphasis on content. There are a few pages which may be an exception and have a slightly different layout. Examples of this would be a contact page or an error page.

Once a general version of these pages has been built and approved, the process of generating the HTML and CSS begins. Depending on the complexity of the design and the coding skills of the designer, this can take as long as the design process, if not longer. Other factors will affect this as well – for example, how much content does the site have? And, is the site being built in a content management system so the client is able to edit the content?

One of the last steps for the design firm will be tasks like testing forms, checking for HTML and CSS validation and testing for cross-browser compatibility. With technology evolving at a rapid pace, and the rising popularity of a wide range of mobile devices and tablets, design companies spend a significant amount of time ensuring that the site they have just built looks and works correctly across all of these devices – from wide-screen desktop monitors, to the newest tablet or smartphone. Of course, some of these devices may require a separate mobile version of the website, which more and more companies are finding they need to take into consideration.

While some design companies use templates to build websites, most firms prefer to build a site from the ground up, to do the actual design and coding work themselves. This provides several benefits – the client receives a totally unique website and the design firm has an attractive addition to their portfolio.

Throughout the entire design and building process, there should be open communication between the design firm and the client, so that any issues can be resolved quickly and in a satisfactory manner for both parties.

The entire design process – from sitemap to launch – contains measured and calculated steps devised to create a smooth process. By knowing how the process of designing and creating a website unfolds, both the designer and the client are able to effectively communicate during development. From wireframes and mock-ups to content implementation, understanding the formation of a website will help clients to know what to expect from their design firm, and from the Web design process.

One of the main reasons your company should be using Twitter is that most of your customers are probably already on it. This is a serious, vast market composed of hundreds of millions of people, and if your company or organization is not utilizing this social networking media, you are losing out on customers. Users (and companies) are able to brand their account with backgrounds, pictures and usernames, so the Twitter account blends seamlessly with the company brand.

The most important and most obvious reason that your company should be on Twitter is that customers enjoy using Twitter to connect with companies – Twitter allows them to voice their opinion and be heard in ways that would not otherwise be possible. Companies utilizing this form of media are able to ENGAGE their customers and maintain a positive conversation that otherwise would not have transpired, and to the customers – they feel like their voice is being heard and the company cares about what they have to say. There is not a better model for brand loyalty than that.

Twitter can be used to announce promotions, discounts, or special events. This event can be used in conjunction with an e-commerce site (i.e. enter this code at checkout and receive a 10% discount!) or “Mention this ad in our store…”. Customers are looking for great deals, and if your organization is tweeting them, customers will follow. Your loyal customers can also help to give your Twitter feed a boost – re-tweeting deals that they think their friends or co-workers may be interested in.

Twitter is FREE – there is no charge to create an account or to use an account, sending as many “tweets” in a day as you like. There are several styles of Twitter icons available as well, that can be placed on your website to link to your Twitter account. Twitter is also immediate – your followers will have access to your tweets as soon as you send them. It is a streamlined and effective way to spread your message straight to your target audience.

Make your Twitter account useful to your followers. Maybe you have a home-improvement store. Tweet pictures of what your customers have done with your products, or send helpful links that relate to your business. A restaurant could tweet daily lunch specials. An accountant could tweet tips for tax filing or budget management. An architect could tweet pictures of their latest project. No matter what industry your organization is in, there is an effective way for Twitter to help you engage your audience and client base. If your customers are actively engaged with your Twitter feed, reciprocate – follow their Twitter feed as well. Businesses, especially, should make their feed pertinent and applicable to the audience they are trying to reach.

Twitter is a free, positive, productive way to reach hundreds of millions of potential customers and clients. Your organization can set up a free account and by sending out helpful, applicable tweets, can amass a following of loyal customers that otherwise, may have been difficult, if not impossible to connect with.

It has been estimated that one in three adults in the United States has a smartphone, which is used on a daily basis. What does this mean for your business?

Consumers are utilizing their smartphones in increasing numbers, as data plans become more affordable, download times become faster, and information becomes more accessible. In today’s market, companies need to maintain a mobile presence. A mobile website needs to mirror your marketing and branding message, but be tailored to fit on a smaller screen, with condensed, easily accessible information. To put it simply, your mobile site needs to be a smaller, more efficient version of your current website. It needs to reduce the amount of effort taken by a user to gain the information they need. If your company is not currently utilizing a mobile website, you are losing business.

Ask anyone who owns and uses a smartphone how frustrated they become when searching for a particular company or piece of information from a website that is not enabled for mobile viewing. They will tell you the experience is frustrating, and often, they quickly move on to easier solutions. Imagine you own a restaurant, and rely on tourism for a portion of your business. You have a website, but it is not configured for viewing from a smartphone or mobile device. Every day, you are losing business, because your potential customers cannot get the information they need. Unable to locate pricing information or directions, they move on to another option, one that provides information to them in a fast and concise manner.

Arguably, there are no disadvantages to having a mobile website. It may cost your company additional fees to build and implement, but will pay for itself over time. Typically, most mobile websites do not contain the amount of information in a regular website, and therefore contain fewer pages, which can also help to offset the total cost.

Mobile websites can aid your business, and  continue to be utilized every day, in growing numbers in all sectors of the market. With this technology projected to become even more prevalent, if your business or organization is not using a mobile website, you will continue to lose more prospective clients. The time to take your company onto a mobile platform is now.

Domain Names

Your domain name (your “www” address) is a property that is renewed (typically) every year, with the domain Registrant listed as the owner of the domain. The domain name Registrant needs to be permanently associated with your company. If your design firm is taking care of the registration themselves, be sure to specify to them who should be named as Registrant, and what contact information should be associated with the domain. This should be the name of an individual within your organization and long-term contact information for your company.

You should also put in place a succession plan in the case that the individual listed as Registrant leaves your company. Your domain registration should always remain within the hands of your organization.

Facebook Pages

Facebook Pages are run by “admins.” The initial creator of the Page is automatically made an admin, who can then designate other admins. These admins may also add other admins, and so on. Admins may also remove other admins.

Because of the nature of these pages, it is important to always have multiple individuals in your company listed as admins. If an admin leaves your company, you should be sure to remove their admin status from the page. Likewise, if you have a third party taking part in the running of your Facebook Page, you should never have them as the sole administrator and should remove their capabilities from the page if you part ways.

There is no way to have Facebook restore administrative powers to your company once you lose control of your Page, even if you can prove that you own the company it’s promoting. This makes it vital that you do not allow such a situation to occur.

Twitter, YouTube, etc.

Services such as Twitter and YouTube are run from a single username and password. If you have multiple people updating your company’s profiles on these sites, they will all be sharing the same password. However, even if you only have a single person updating your profiles, you should have multiple people within your business who know the login information. If one person who knew the password leaves the organization, you should be sure to change the password and inform those who are still with your company.

If a password is lost, forgotten or changed without your knowledge, it is possible to reset the password using the email address that is used when registering for the websites. To ensure you will be able to reset the password if needed, you should use a generic company email address (for example, if your company has an “info@” email address) that is not specific to an individual.
It’s important to maintain ownership of and access to everything your company puts online. If all of your online accounts are in the hands of a single employee or a third party company, there is an ongoing risk that when that employee leaves, or when you disassociate with the third party, that you will lose access to your accounts. Or even worse – an unhappy former employee could use their ownership of your online accounts against you.

The key to bridging these two mediums is a technology called “QR Codes”, which are a special type of barcode. Using a smartphone, these barcodes can be easily scanned to obtain information, such a web address or geographical location, or to initiate an activity, such as placing a telephone call or sending a message via email. Let’s take a practical look at how this technology can be leveraged to increase the effectiveness of your ongoing promotions.

Direct Mail

Increasing the conversion rate for direct mail campaigns is always a challenge. A historically successful way to achieve this increase is to couple the mailer with a special landing page on the company’s website. This page can provide special offers and targeted information to a narrowly defined audience type (the demographic targeted by the mailer). Naturally, the challenge is getting the recipient to enter the web address into their browser. QR Codes make getting from post card to landing page a simple operation.

Brochures

A tri-fold brochure is a convenient and economical means of reaching potential customers, but is severely limited by spacial constraints. Using this technology you can use this space to reinforce the company’s message and then link to a full online catalog for details of available products.

Tradeshows

Increase the effectiveness of your interactions at tradeshows by adding a QR Code to your literature. An example would be to link to a presentation, demonstration or special downloads targeted directly at conference attendees.

Product Packaging

More and more, consumer goods are being discussed, reviewed and recommended through social networking websites. Adding a QR Code to packaging can give customers a simple means to Tweet or post to Facebook messages related to your product.

Business Cards

Your business cards can help you better connect with potential customers by adding a QR Code that links to your company’s physical location via Google Maps.

While all of that may sound great, it does beg the question: Who is actually using this technology? The answer is, one of the nation’s fastest-growing customer bases. According to the Internet tracking firm comScore, nearly a quarter of all mobile device users over the age of 13 have a smartphone. Not only is the technology widely-available, but it’s also easy to use. Here are two of many articles online that show how to download and use a barcode reader for Android devices and iPhones. Once you have a reader in place you can test it on the code used in the image at the top of this article (which will prompt you to Tweet, “A great marketing article” with a link to this page).

When it comes to promoting your business, getting customers to “act now” is at the heart of every successful campaign. Thanks to this technology, it has gotten a little bit easier.

One of the greatest benefits of social media networks is their ability to involve the customer. Facebook, for example, allows customers to connect with your business in one click of a button. Once the person is connected, they will have the ability to communicate directly with representatives at your organization as well as with other customers.

This serves two important purposes for your brand. The first is that it engages the customer, essentially making them a part of your company’s creative process. This personal connection helps to develop brand-loyalty within your client base. Actively responding to feedback left by clients will enhance this benefit further. The second is that it provides your business with instant feedback. Comments left by customers can be used to gauge the success of a new product or program, as well as provide insight into potential improvements. You can also pose questions to your network, oftentimes getting results within a matter of minutes.

Another asset of social media websites is the ease by which they can be updated. Any number of moderators from your organization can make posts as frequently as necessary, keeping your brand relevant and at the front of your clients’ minds. You can use these posts to advertise a new promotion or event as well as link viewers to your website where they can learn more about the subject. Many clients find these updates to be less invasive and more personal than an email newsletter.

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube also provide your company with another type of advertising, search engine results. Google and other major search engines have begun to use data provided by Facebook pages to generate search results. This extra visibility provides your organization with free promotion that will help you become more recognizable and set you apart from your competitors.

A CMS-based website (sometimes referred to as a “dynamic” or “database-driven” site) uses a scripting language and a database to publish content. These packages include an administrative area that enables you to conveniently update the website without any knowledge of HTML or other coding language. If you can complete an online form, you can maintain the entire website.

Some core CMS features enable you to:

• Add, edit or delete text site-wide
• Upload and insert images
• Publish (and catalog) news items, press releases and blog posts
• Make documents available for download (.PDF, .DOC, etc.)
• Maintain an events calendar
• Create links to pages anywhere on the web (including your own site)

In the early days of commercial websites, Content Management Systems were cost prohibitive. Each package required custom development, quickly leading to a steep price tag that required a long period of time to realize a return on the investment. These days, there is a wide selection of off-the-shelf CMS packages available—many of which are low-cost or even free to use, due to being released under the Creative Commons License. The folks at SpryeStudios put together a nice list of what they consider to be the “Top 12 Free Content Management Systems” available (with additional packages listed in the “Comments” area).

What this means to you is that you can easily add a CMS to your site, giving you the immediate and complete control over the content you publish. Any competent web development company will be able to help you select a CMS best suited for your business and then customize that package to function according to your specific needs.

These ten ideas can help you increase the number of visitors to your website and, in many cases, improve the quality of their visit.

Create a Google Webmaster Tools account

Google Webmaster Tools is a free service that shows you how your website appears to Google’s search engine crawlers. It also provides you with the means of making it easier for Google to index your website through the use of a file known as an XML sitemap. This file identifies the name and location of every page on your site and can even be set to designate the frequency at which each page is updated.

No level of technical knowledge is needed to create the sitemap.xml file thanks to the many free online services that will generate one for you, including XML-Sitemaps.com.

Submit to Industry Directories

When a website is launched it is often standard procedure to submit the URL to search engine directories, such as Google, Yahoo, Bing and DMOZ. What is frequently overlooked, however, is the ample supply of smaller, more specific directories available online.

Finding directories specific to your industry can be as simple as entering “[industry name] directory” in your favorite search engine. Having your business listed in as many of these directories as is feasible can result in increased visits from a less generalized demographic.

Add a Blog

Blogs are a convenient way for businesses to publish the single most valuable element on the Internet—new, unique content. By posting compelling, relevant articles businesses can:

• Demonstrate a superior level of expertise in an industry sector
• Open a new line of communication with potential customers via integrated “Comments” areas
• Increase search engine ranking by regularly publishing new content and through the use of keyword-rich categories and tags

Thanks to the prevalence of top-tier blogging engines, such as WordPress, Moveable Type and Expression Engine, incorporating a blog in your company’s online marketing scheme has never been more accessible.

Promote Your Content

Make the effort to craft a well-written, timely article pay greater dividends by promoting your new posts in blog-specific search engines. Blog-Search is a search engine focused only on content published through blogs. Users of this type of search engine are looking specifically for insider-style content, the exact type of information you are using to add value to your website. Traditional search engines recognize the value of the links posted to this site as well. By including your site’s blog area to this directory you can increase the visibility of the information you are posting.

Become a Guest Author

Again, recognizing that the main thing people are searching for is original content, we can easily understand the need for popular blogs and online publishers to employ guest authors. Your business can benefit from you becoming a guest author by giving you and your company exposure to a larger audience.

Finding a site willing to publish the work of a guest author can be as simple as emailing the publisher of your favorite industry-related blog. Other places that are always in search of contributing authors include:

• OPEN Forum
• Biznik
• Ezine Articles
• Go Articles
• iSnare

Create a Professional Twitter Account and Facebook Page

A key to getting increased traffic is to distribute your information in a variety of formats. This leaves it to the recipient (your potential customer) to determine which way they prefer to receive periodic updates.

Two easy data streams to tap into are Twitter and Facebook. You can use these networks to post links to related industry articles both on your website and elsewhere on the Internet. These feeds also provide you with a vital link to your follows and fans where you can announce new products, specials and website updates.

Focusing on growing your subscription base in these two networks can result in significant traffic increases.

Leverage Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking site provide individuals with the means of managing important references found on the web. An added benefit of social bookmarking sites is that you can view links that others have found to be of interest. By building a collection of valuable links related to your industry you can increase exposure to your own site as well.

Of course, getting others to bookmark your site is even better. If you are regularly publishing valuable content, encourage them to add your posts to their bookmarks. What’s the easiest way to do that? Add links to your pages that, when clicked, will automatically add the page to that visitor’s account.

A key is knowing which social bookmarking site has the appropriate audience for the information you are publishing. If your information is related to health and wellness then it is unlikely to be added to Slashdot, which is geared specifically towards a computer-savvy audience.

Popular social bookmarking sites include:

• Delicious
• Stumbled Upon
• Digg

Post to Related News Groups

As a knowledgeable professional within your industry you have a lot to offer the general public. Exposing people to that knowledge can not only benefit them, but can result in additional qualified visits to your website.

Sometimes you need to search out those that can benefit from your expertise, and that’s where news groups come into play. Visiting a news group and browsing to your specialized field can provide an abundance of opportunities to demonstrate your knowledge and direct traffic back to your website.

Popular news groups include:

• Yahoo Groups
• Google Groups
• About

Contribute to Industry Related Forums

Along the same lines as participating in news groups, industry forums can provide a bounty of chances to expose your insight within your field. The key is to find relevant forums and participate as much as possible.

You will want to check the sites’ terms and conditions, and, if permitted, include a link to your site in your signature. This way each time you post there is a link to your site surrounded by industry-related content, and search engines have the tendency to like that.

Pay-Per-Click Ad Campaigns

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ad campaigns provide businesses with the opportunity to have text-based advertisements appear with related search results. Popular options are Google Adwords and Yahoo!’s Overture. In both cases, businesses bid on keywords for which they want their advertisement to appear. Then, based on bidding and the daily budget allotted for the campaign, advertisements will be displayed when someone searches using the associated keywords.

A important point is that you are only charged when someone actually clicks through your advertisement to your site. Using PPC with a dedicated landing page (a page with content that specifically ties to the advertisement) can result in an effective online advertising campaign.

For many businesses, their website is the prime marketing tool that not only generates leads and sales on its own, but also supports all other promotion efforts. So what is the best way to measure the results of your web-based initiatives?

In our experience, Google Analytics has proven to be the premier website statistical package. Google Analytics has all the tools you need to measure the performance of your website, including unique and repeat visits, page views, pages per visit, bounce rate, average time on site, and percentage of new visits.

By monitoring these numbers on a daily (or at the very least, weekly) basis you can see what your customers are interested in, which types of content generate the most activity and which areas within your site are “sticky” (holding visitors’ attention the longest). Armed with this information you can help your website evolve into a more focused tool by giving your visitors (read: customers) the type of information they desire. This knowledge is also valuable when making day-to-day business decisions, such as product focus or how to adjust sales initiatives.

Integrating Google Analytics into your site is a simple task. It is as easy as signing up for an account and pasting the generated javascript code into each page of your site. That’s it–Google does the rest of the work for you. In fact, you can even choose to have select reports emailed to you eliminating the need to even log in to your account.

If you use AdWords or Adsense, these too can be tracked and reported upon so that you can determine your ROI for your ongoing marketing campaigns.

With up to 85 reports available at your fingertips, you are sure to find the information you need in order to make informative decisions regarding your website’s future offerings. What makes it even better is that this tool is available absolutely free of charge.

When your company employs a consistent approach to all marketing and promotional efforts, each piece is strengthened by the others. Consider the customer that is the recipient of a mailer that is part of a direct mail campaign. This is an opportunity to introduce your company’s look and visual approach. If the goal of this campaign is to drive traffic to a specific area of your website, the pages of the site should immerse the visitor in your colors, voice, and presentation style. When, finally, the customer meets face-to-face with an associate from your company, that employee’s business card, using familiar colors and type treatments, identifies him as an extension of the company, adding immediate credibility.

A trusted company has a huge competitive advantage. One way to gain initial trust is for your company to be consistently identified by its brand. A professional brand is generally considered to be the mark of a company that is well-established and experienced. This also demonstrates a commitment to quality and professionalism. By employing a carefully planned corporate ID, even a start-up business can show its customers that it is serious, committed, and ready to get down to business.

A consistent business presence helps your company achieve instant recognition. In marketing, every second counts. If the medium is a billboard you may only have two-to-three seconds to communicate with a passing car. As someone is sorting email, you may only get one quick glance to identify yourself and announce the value of your message. Using a consistent visual approach you can optimize these precious seconds by providing immediate recognition as associated with your company’s style.

So take a look at the items you are currently using to market your company. Do your advertisements tell the same story as your website? When you look at your business card, does it make you recall your last billboard promotion? If not, then this needs to be a key requirement when planning your ongoing marketing strategy. Focusing on a consistent look and message can begin reaping rewards almost immediately.