1. Web_Design_For_Small_Businesses : Part I
Telford Web Design
Telford is a great place for people to visit as well as live and work. The town is very modern
and is in sharp contrast to the surrounding countryside Shropshire. Telford was designated
a new town in 1963 and was originally developed to alleviate the over population in
Birmingham and the Black Country. Telford is now widely known as 'the cradle of the
industrial revolution'; Ironbridge is a World Heritage Site and is visited by thousands of
people from all over the world every year. With 10 museums including Blist Hill Victorian
Town, Enginuity, Coalbrookdale Musuem of Iron, Jackfield Tile Museum and Coalport China
Museum. All of these museums will give you a great insight into the history of the industrial
revolution.
Telford's central location makes it a perfect base for exploring the regions many attractions.
The M54 motorway runs right through the town linking Telford with the M6 and the rest of
the UK's motorway network. It is a modern town with great shopping and business facilities.
There are many wonderful places to visit in and around Telford and the town is and is
recognised as an important growth point in the West Midlands region.
If you live in the Telford area and have a business and are thinking having a website
designed for your company then you need think about a few important factors. Do you have
a domain name? Do you need hosting? What is your budget? Do you need an ecommerce
website with a shopping trolley to sell products? Will you need to update your site yourself
in the future? Once you have answered these questions you can then go about finding a
good company that offer all of these services.
Finding a competent company that has a portfolio of work is very helpful. You can look
through their portfolio and see some of the websites they have designed for previous
customers.
The eCommerce design is very important to the success of any web site. You want to be
sure that your website is designed right. One of the first things you notice about a website is
whether it is pleasant to the eye. Bright flashing coloured text is very off putting as is a flash
intro. A very important key is to make sure your site loads quickly. You will loose a great deal
of customers if your pages take over 5 seconds to load.
It is a lot easier if you can find a company that can do everything for you. A company that
can sell you the domain name as well as the hosting. Some hosting companies also offer
web design which would make the whole experience a lot easier. Dealing with the same
people for your domain name, hosting, email, web design makes the who process a lot
easier. For one you only need one contact telephone number. A company with good
customer support is a must. Not all companies offer this and this and it can be very
frustrating. You want to know that if you have any trouble you can just call for customer
support or technical support.

2. Hiring a web designer to come up with the custom solution that you need can set you back
a few thousand bucks. But you can do the whole thing yourself and make it drag and drop
simple for mere pennies with a tool like Breezy Websites. See http://breezywebsites.com
for details!
WEB_DESIGN_FOR_SMALL_BUSINESSES : End of Part I
Web_Design_For_Small_Businesses : Part II
Ten Things That Loose You Credibility As Web Designers.
1) A hit counter
Is it 1998? Why do you need one? Many clients want some way to track their visitors or see
how many unique visits they have. Do them a favor and don't use a CGI or visible hot
counter. The world uses invisible tracking now. Google analytics is free and incredibly
useful. Give them access to that. Educate your client if this is a problem. You're the web
designer.
2) Black backgrounds
Black backgrounds can be pulled off really only by professional designers. If you are one,
great for you, if not, stick to white or a brighter color. And for the love of God, don't place a
dark text on a dark background. Use your common sense. Educate your client if this is a
problem. You're the web designer.
3) Background Music
If I want to listen to music, I have my own, and I have my own player. Visitors to a website
are there for a reason. To find what they are looking for. Do not intrude on that. Your job is to
make that information available and present it in the most appealing way. You are a web
designer, not a DJ. If I'm listening to music while browsing, I don't want yours overlaid. It's
very annoying. Educate your client if this is a problem. You're the web designer.
4) Pointless JavaScript
Disabling right click has no purpose apart from annoying people and making you look
unprofessional. Avoid using pointless free JavaScript widgets just for the sake of it. Scrolling
text in the status bar. If you want to present information, present it on the page. Educate
your client if this is a problem. You're the web designer.
5) Spelling and Grammar
How difficult is it to run a spell check? We all make mistakes. We're human after all. Even
the spell checkers make mistakes. But chronic misspellings and poor grammar just makes
you look stupid.

3. 6) Banners And Ads
By all means use them, but not too many/only if your site is established. CPM advertising
can be a great way to earn revenue, but plastering every pixel of screen real estate with
banners and ads makes you look like you're just in it for the money. Maybe you are, but
have at least some decent content to justify it. Adsense and other contextual advertising
should HELP your users. Remember that. Popups on landing pages just annoy people.
7) Overuse Of Flashy Graphics
If I want flashing and colorful lights, Ill go to a disco. Once, twice or even three times and it
has my attention. That's enough.
8) Flash Splash Pages
Does anyone really need to see your 3 minute graphics presentation? Probably not. If you
are trying to show off, let a visitor choose if they want to see it. If you MUST show a flash
splash screen, at least give the option to skip it.
9) Asking users to join before viewing content or a forum
This one really grinds my gears. If you have a forum or have useful content, show it. Do not
make members sign up to view it. They should only sign up to post/reply/contribute. Limiting
viewing of content will drive visitors away in droves.
10) Browser Dependence
Dont make your website "Designed for Internet Explorer" or any other browser. Make it
accessible and cross browser compatible. Why on earth would you or your client want to
exclude anyone? Use your brain. Educate your client if this is a problem. You're the web
designer.
Hiring a web designer to come up with the custom solution that you need can set you back
a few thousand bucks. But you can do the whole thing yourself and make it drag and drop
simple for mere pennies with a tool like Breezy Websites. See http://breezywebsites.com
for details!
WEB_DESIGN_FOR_SMALL_BUSINESSES : End of Part II
Web_Design_For_Small_Businesses : Part III
Ten Things That Loose You Credibility As Web Designers.
1) A hit counter
Is it 1998? Why do you need one? Many clients want some way to track their visitors or see
how many unique visits they have. Do them a favor and don't use a CGI or visible hot

4. counter. The world uses invisible tracking now. Google analytics is free and incredibly
useful. Give them access to that. Educate your client if this is a problem. You're the web
designer.
2) Black backgrounds
Black backgrounds can be pulled off really only by professional designers. If you are one,
great for you, if not, stick to white or a brighter color. And for the love of God, don't place a
dark text on a dark background. Use your common sense. Educate your client if this is a
problem. You're the web designer.
3) Background Music
If I want to listen to music, I have my own, and I have my own player. Visitors to a website
are there for a reason. To find what they are looking for. Do not intrude on that. Your job is to
make that information available and present it in the most appealing way. You are a web
designer, not a DJ. If I'm listening to music while browsing, I don't want yours overlaid. It's
very annoying. Educate your client if this is a problem. You're the web designer.
4) Pointless JavaScript
Disabling right click has no purpose apart from annoying people and making you look
unprofessional. Avoid using pointless free JavaScript widgets just for the sake of it. Scrolling
text in the status bar. If you want to present information, present it on the page. Educate
your client if this is a problem. You're the web designer.
5) Spelling and Grammar
How difficult is it to run a spell check? We all make mistakes. We're human after all. Even
the spell checkers make mistakes. But chronic misspellings and poor grammar just makes
you look stupid.
6) Banners And Ads
By all means use them, but not too many/only if your site is established. CPM advertising
can be a great way to earn revenue, but plastering every pixel of screen real estate with
banners and ads makes you look like you're just in it for the money. Maybe you are, but
have at least some decent content to justify it. Adsense and other contextual advertising
should HELP your users. Remember that. Popups on landing pages just annoy people.
7) Overuse Of Flashy Graphics
If I want flashing and colorful lights, Ill go to a disco. Once, twice or even three times and it
has my attention. That's enough.
8) Flash Splash Pages
Does anyone really need to see your 3 minute graphics presentation? Probably not. If you
are trying to show off, let a visitor choose if they want to see it. If you MUST show a flash
splash screen, at least give the option to skip it.
9) Asking users to join before viewing content or a forum
This one really grinds my gears. If you have a forum or have useful content, show it. Do not
make members sign up to view it. They should only sign up to post/reply/contribute. Limiting
viewing of content will drive visitors away in droves.

5. 10) Browser Dependence
Dont make your website "Designed for Internet Explorer" or any other browser. Make it
accessible and cross browser compatible. Why on earth would you or your client want to
exclude anyone? Use your brain. Educate your client if this is a problem. You're the web
designer.
Hiring a web designer to come up with the custom solution that you need can set you back
a few thousand bucks. But you can do the whole thing yourself and make it drag and drop
simple for mere pennies with a tool like Breezy Websites. See http://breezywebsites.com
for details!
WEB_DESIGN_FOR_SMALL_BUSINESSES : End of Part III

6. 10) Browser Dependence
Dont make your website "Designed for Internet Explorer" or any other browser. Make it
accessible and cross browser compatible. Why on earth would you or your client want to
exclude anyone? Use your brain. Educate your client if this is a problem. You're the web
designer.
Hiring a web designer to come up with the custom solution that you need can set you back
a few thousand bucks. But you can do the whole thing yourself and make it drag and drop
simple for mere pennies with a tool like Breezy Websites. See http://breezywebsites.com
for details!
WEB_DESIGN_FOR_SMALL_BUSINESSES : End of Part III