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What differentiates a New York Web design company from any other Web design company? Competition! Those searching for top quality Web design in New York have hundreds of possible candidates to select from in an area of just a few city blocks. That's what I call competition!
If you are not from the area it can be difficult to envision. This might help Imagine typing "New York web design" into Google's search box and getting hundreds of pages with thousands of links of returns. Instead of clicking on those links however, you're walking into hundreds of offices; each offering their own unique flavor of Web design.
Sure, the competition is crazy but there is a good side. It makes those who really want to shine, work that much harder. They know anyone seeking design services has thousands of choices so they have to keep their ideas fresh and talent at its peak.
Having said that, I'd like to offer some inside advice from a flourishing New York Web design business. Specifically I'd like to hit on some of the more important aspects of Web usability, which is the most important starting point of any design project yet, typically the one least addressed.
First off, most people do not really read a Web page at first glance; they scan it to see if there is something worth actually reading. You need to get their attention right away and keep it. Here's how...
1.) Jump in with your most powerful content right off the bat. Grab their attention immediately and keep it. Never save the best for last unless you have something nearly as good to lead the reader there.
2.) Be as consistent as possible with you functional areas; especially navigation links (top, left, right, etc.) search boxes, login fields, and anything else that needs user interaction.
3.) Link your company logo back to your home page. It's both comforting and expected.
4.) Add a search box that searches ONLY within your site. Don't bother with one that offers to Search The Web. It's like giving your visitor an invitation to leave your site. What might help Google's advertisers isn't always good for you. Besides, why encourage users to leave your site?
Also bear in mind that you want search engines to be able to easily find and get what it needs from your site in addition to live ors. A pretty Website is nowhere near enough. To be found by customers you must first be found by search engines. To do this we use something called search engine optimization or SEO. Following are 3 "must do" items for your Website to do list, if you want your site at the top of Google.
1.) Use text links with anchor text within your page content. You already know that anchor text is the clickable word(s) that comprise a hyperlink. But what you might not realize is just how incredibly powerful that anchor text is.
Go to Google and run a search for "Click Here" (no quotes.) Now try to pay special attention to two things... First, there are more than 1.6 billion other (competing) pages. Second, the number 1 match is a link to an Adobe Acrobat Reader download page.
I'll save you the suspense. It's not written anywhere on the page or in the META tags. They are number one for ?Click Here?, out of 1.6 Billion pages, simply because for years people offering a link to Acrobat have placed the page link as anchor text in the words ?Click Here.? Now that's powerful! And you can harness that power by linking to other pages within your site. Which leads us to Insider Tip #2...
2.) If you deem that SEO is a priority for your site, create a unique page for each of your main keywords. Just be sure to link the anchor text from each page to the page that has that specific keyword as its focus.
Industry Insider Tip: If you are a Web designer for hire, adding search engine optimization to your resume is a nice way to get a lot more reward for your efforts. There are a number of good SEO products out there that can help you get professional results with almost no learning curve and a low upfront investment. For example, you can have the exact same tool that eBay relies on for $250, at http://www.iBusinessPR0M0TER.com.
3.) Relevant anchor text should also be at the top of your mind when you are requesting inbound links from other sites. This is what Google uses as its strongest measurement to gage the quality of your pages.
This is how you can build your brand using your own words. Getting visitors there is only half the battle, keeping them is a whole different ballgame. Now, similar to tip number 2, you want to request specific keywords be used in the anchor text leading to your pages from other sites. And be sure to request each link to the most appropriate page. Just linking to the homepage doesn't cut it anymore.
Be Warned: Reciprocal link farms can get your site penalized on Google! Simple reciprocal linking, via automated script or link farm, is easily recognized by Google. There's a much better way if you need the "set it and forget it" convenience. We'll look at one now
If you are in need of quality links but don't have time to setup link partnerships yourself, you may want to try a service that facilitates "3 way linking" like the one at http://www.3WayLinker.com.
It's very simple and really pretty ingenious. Here's how it works Site 1 links to Site 2. Site 2" links to Site 3. And Site 3 links to Site 1 forming an indirect chain of 1 way links.
That's it for the time being. Best of luck!
About the Author:
Dave Radovanovic is a New York Web Design professional who began in 1993. A Web media professional, he opened WhatsTheBigIdea.com in '03. In addition to Web, Dave is among the top graphic designer professionals in New York.
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