My Intro to Web Design
Web design was something I got into to show off my art portfolio back in the early 2000’s. I wasn’t thinking about creating websites for a living. You know, just some web design Yahoo Geocities fun. Then, as I found myself looking for better paying jobs as a graphic designer, web design was listed as a common requirement. I went back to school and learned how to create a web page from notepad.
After some time, I stumbled upon WordPress, a popular platform used by many businesses for their online stores. It offers various web design themes and plug-in tools that can be utilized for design, marketing, and even integrate with enterprise systems. I went through a brief tutorial to learn how to create a fundamental theme for myself and have been using WordPress for web design ever since.
Web Design for Clients
What I offer clients is similar to my own website. WordPress is the framework and plug-ins are everything inside that improve the function of the website and your business. When coming up with a plan for your web design it’s good to know your comfort level with the technology. If possible I am just building your website and you will be running the day to day operations of your business.
Web Design
You don’t need me to customize your website these days. There are plenty of WordPress basic themes already designed to implement a clean professional look. We can start by browsing different themes and choosing the right look. It saves time. If there are minor changes you would like about a theme I can still make those changes. It’s called piggy backing on a theme, so we leave all credit for the original designer.
Of course if anyone insisted I would create a completely customized theme. I would suggest by starting with a little research to identify any design aesthetics and styles. We can even go into A-B testing with the user interface and analyze the best performance to optimize your website for peak efficiency and comfortable return of your investment.
E-Commerce solutions
E-commerce solutions can be anything from a WordPress Plug-in like Woo-Commerce to a completely separate source like 3D Cart. Like the aesthetic of a theme design there’s no need for me to recreate the wheel from scratch for a shopping cart.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tools
Have you heard of the Jack and the Beanstalk fable? Despite what marketing teams claim, SEO is not magical. It’s practical. WordPress now offers tools for optimizing website rankings. Ever since the commercialization of the Internet people have been trying to game the system to gain an advantage in search results. Google constantly is working to make the Internet better by burying the leaf litter of junk marketing with authentic results. Oh and of course the paid advertised search results that make Google worth over a trillion US dollars.
Social Media Profiles
The Social Media Profile has become the television advertisement. The way we communicate and share our lives in the 2020’s is integrated into the Internet with Social Media. It’s like having your business listed in the Yellow Pages in the 1980’s. It’s rad. Besides making graphics I can assist with setting up business accounts for social media.
Marketing Tools
A marketing budget is essential to garner attention in the glut of advertisements in todays media rich environment. Everywhere we go physically or on the Internet, someone is trying to sell us something. SEO helps, but having the right tools to create advertisement campaigns can go a long way too.
Analytical Tools
Analytical tools go hand in hand with marketing. Along with a multitude of Plug-ins for Word Press, Google’s Site Kit is important for validation, analytics, SEO, and marketing campaigns. Depending on the level of marketing you want to pursue it’s useful to see who, where, and how people find your business website.
E-mail Solutions
E-mail is essential for communication in the digital age. A basic website hosting company should provide you with e-mail service and your web developer can help build contact forms to generate leads for e-mail marketing campaigns. It might sound fancy, but gathering interested customers e-mails and sending out a newsletter will help keep people coming back for more.