|
Web site design represents
a critical element of every web strategy. After all, your prospects
form an image of your organization based on what they see on
your web pages. While a professional web design can enhance your
revenues on the Web by projecting a strong image to your audience,
it can become very expensive if your web site contains a lot
of pages or if you frequently update its content. Unfortunately,
for most small companies, it means that hiring the services of
professional web design agencies is simply out of reach.
Fortunately, several resources
are available to help you create a professional image on the
web when on a budget. No need to limit your potential on the
Internet because of small marketing budgets. By selecting the
right tools, you too can project a strong image. The goal is
to avoid at all costs the "amateurish" look, a characteristic
of most small and even mid-sized organizations on the Internet.
First and foremost, you must
develop web design skills. The Internet will play a growing role
in your organization's strategy. More than likely, you will shift
most of your efforts to online activities in order to remain
competitive in the e-marketplace. So now is a good time to start
taking control of your web site. Beginning with its design.
For less than a $ 1,000, you
can easily create a site that looks as if you had spent 10 times
as much. The key is to mix the right elements : buttons, page
layouts, colors, images, and even multimedia. Integrate high
quality content and you will have a site that differentiate your
company on the World Wide Web.
Professional
photographs and illustrations
The images
you use on your web site can make a real difference. In this
case, the decision is easy: select only photographs and illustrations
created by professionals. The quality of royalty-free photos
and illustrations has increased dramatically over the past few
years. Today, for a couple hundred dollars, you can have photos
that will make even the biggest sites very jealous. Plus, the
number of categories has literally exploded. No matter what your
line of business is, there is a CD with hundreds of incredible
images for you.
We recommend
3 sources of professional royalty-free photography and illustrations:
1.
Eyewire,
2.
Corbis
and 3.
Photodisc.
Be sure to check out their master collections for some remarkable
shots guaranteed to grab your audience's attention. The typical
CD costs between US $199 and US $ 349 and includes anywhere between
60 to 100 images. The best part is that there are no additional
licensing fees associated with the use of the images. You can
use them on banners if you plan to advertise on other sites and
still keep a consistent image at a low cost. Images are offered
at several resolutions, so you can drop them in your web pages
directly.
Ready-to-use
animations and multimedia files
Animations
and multimedia files can be time-consuming and very expensive
to create. These often remain the exclusivity of large companies.
Well, significant progress has been made in this area as well.
Several firms are now offering royalty-free collections of animations,
music, and videos ready to be used on your web site. The quality
of the files is superb, allowing you to give your web site a
real professional touch in no time. Again, we recommend 1.
Photodisc and
2.
Eyewire
for their array of top-quality CDs. You will save thousands of
dollars in licensing fees over time. No need to hire the services
of professionals, the hard work has already been done for you.
Prices for the CDs range from US$159 to US$399.
Professional
web pages ready for the Internet
You have the
photos, illustrations animations and music. Now, all you need
is a professional web page. This is where most companies that
operate on a shoe-string budget tend to falter. You do not have
to be a web design to create professional-looking web pages.
Nor do you need to hire the services of web design agencies.
Not if you use the right tools. In this area, we are proud to
mention that ReadyWeb™ is still the premier
source for professional web page designs. With ReadyLive, you
access to more than 30,000 headers and buttons in 11 languages
to give your web site a professional look in no time. This is
not a collection of clip-art. All graphics have been designed
by professional designers to make your web site stand out. Simply
drag and drop the graphics into your current site or use one
of fifteen professionally-designed templates to build the web
site that will set your company apart from the millions of sites
present on the Web today. It is the ideal solution for companies
with limited budgets who want to make a big impact on the Web.
ReadyWeb retails for US $425.
Powerful design
combined with rich content and a solid strategy will give you
a real advantage on the Internet. Today, thanks to innovative
and professional companies you have access to tools that can
make a big difference on how successful you are in the emarketplace.
The key is to weigh all your options and allocate your resources
in an effort to make the biggest impact. In some instances, hiring
a professional agency makes more sense. However, you can still
lower you expenses by purchasing these web tools and providing
your agency with ready-made design elements. This way it will
not have to create everything. And that means less money leaving
your safe.
|
