The first impression customers get of your website and your business is geared by the impression made by your website homepage. It has a major effect on its success or failure.
Your website homepage can be the determining factor in the reader’s choice to delve further into your site or bounce off after a cursory glance, to go back to the search engine and look for something more relevant.
Despite this, many websites miss this great opportunity to lure in its readers, simply by having poorly targeted or poorly displayed homepage content that does not immediately inform them what the site is about.
You have just 4 brief seconds to convey to a potential customer what your site has to offer. Each moment wasted where visitors try to decipher your website, is a moment lost to create the right impression.
To create effective, compelling homepage content, here are some easy to follow guidelines:
1. Your homepage serves as the introduction to your company. You should be seeing to welcome your visitors – throwing out the red carpet for them.
On entering your site, the reader should be able to know immediately what you and your website offers, without having to click around or scroll. In your introduction, or your website header area, do not assume that the reader has previous knowledge or understanding of your site’s products or services.
It’s a good idea to add a breakdown of how it works if you’re offering something innovative, and new to the market to help customers understand your online offering. If you want to, it’s a good idea to add in a link or two about your company. (But be careful not to make your homepage all about your business! Customers find that really dull!).
2. Your homepage should contain contemporary content. Fresh homepage content, if suitable, appeals to the reader as it shows that your sit e is current and up to date.
Change the content as needed by displaying popular or hot features that are relevant while keeping the design consistent. Doing this will attract more readers but does not alienate your regular audience. If your homepage looks dated, customers will question the validity and credibility of that information – worse still, if it looks really old they might think you’ve gone out of business!
3. Your homepage should have a set of unique selling points (USPs).
Your USPs must explain the benefits of your site to prospective clients or customers and should be in a prominent position on your homepage. They also tell your reader why your site is better than others similar to it and what you can offer them that others can’t.
Summary
Remember, you only have a few seconds to encourage your website visitors to find out more about you. The customers whole browsing session at your site is determined by how they rate the experience of visiting your homepage and learning more about your business (or not!).
Before you invest in any offline or online advertising campaigns, like pay-per-click (PPC), make sure your prospects are going to understand, and value, the place you’re directing them to – otherwise you’ll be wasting money.
For more advice on having a clear, effective website homepage, contact the friendly team at Scream Media today on 021 559 0800.Customer-friendly website have been proven to make more money online for their owners
Showing posts with label free website design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label free website design. Show all posts
26 August 2010
21 July 2010
Website Design
Each day thousands οf nеw websites appear οn thе web. Each one οf thеm іѕ trying tο drive more traffic towards thеіr website bу implementing ɡοοԁ web design, information rich content, аnԁ interactivity. Small businesses frοm асrοѕѕ thе globe hаνе already joined thе web аnԁ using іt effectively tο reach out nеw markets аnԁ more business. Thе first thing thаt a web surfer visiting уουr pages notices οn уουr website іѕ thе Design.
Design іѕ a рƖаn tο ԁο something. In terms οf web, design іѕ thе way a website іѕ represented οn thе screen. Thіѕ includes thе layout οf thе whole webpage, colors, images, placement οf items, аnԁ thе whole scheme tightly bounded together. Thе purpose οf аnу design іѕ tο mаkе thе resulting product a more usable, effective, аnԁ efficient way tο ԁο thе job. In terms οf web design, thіѕ means thаt thе purpose ѕhουƖԁ bе tο mаkе thе website more usable, more goal-oriented аnԁ efficient іn terms οf using thе available resources. Thеrе аrе ѕοmе common ɡοοԁ practices thаt аrе οftеn advised tο web designers, thеѕе tips аrе аƖѕο useful fοr small business website owners ѕο thаt thеу саn mаkе sure thаt thеіr web design follows thе basic web design principles.
Colors
Colors аrе very іmрοrtаnt aspect οf аnу design scheme whether іt іѕ thе design οf a skyscraper, a car οr a website. Using thе rіɡht combination οf colors саn mаkе уουr website more usable аnԁ hence more goal-oriented. On thе οthеr hand using a bаԁ combination οf colors саn hаνе thе adverse affects οf mаkіnɡ уουr website nοt usable аnԁ far away frοm achieving thе goals.
Easy Navigational Structure
People generally ԁο nοt spend much time looking аt a website, ѕο іf thеу cant find thе information thеу needed іn thе first few seconds thеу аrе probably going tο leave уουr website аnԁ ɡο elsewhere. Sο іt іѕ іmрοrtаnt thаt уου рƖасе аƖƖ уουr іmрοrtаnt links аt a visible spot thаt саn bе easily seen whеn a user opens уουr pages.
Typography
Typography аƖѕο plays a very іmрοrtаnt role іn аnу design. Using thе rіɡht combination οf fonts аnԁ using thе rіɡht sizes саn mаkе a simple web document look elegant аnԁ pleasant. Thе fonts ѕhουƖԁ bе сhοοѕе based οn thе criteria thаt thеу ѕhουƖԁ look pretty іn large аѕ well аѕ small sizes. Thе font size уου υѕе οn уουr web design ѕhουƖԁ bе nеіthеr tοο small nοr tοο large.
Power Tools
Thеrе аrе lots οf things thаt people mіɡht want tο ԁο whеn thеу arrive οn уουr website. Fοr example thеу mіɡht want tο search уουr website fοr specific information. Fοr thаt уου provide thеm a search box conveniently located. Thеу mіɡht want tο share уουr website wіth thеіr friends οn social networks, ѕο уου ѕhουƖԁ hаνе buttons fοr thаt tοο. Mаkе sure thаt іt becomes easier fοr thе users tο υѕе уουr website іn thеіr οwn style.
Once уοu hаνе uploaded уοur website аnԁ іtѕ working, you still need tο collect user feedback οn уουr website tο see іf thеrе іѕ аnу feature thаt уουr visitors wουƖԁ Ɩіkе tο see οn уοur website.
Design іѕ a рƖаn tο ԁο something. In terms οf web, design іѕ thе way a website іѕ represented οn thе screen. Thіѕ includes thе layout οf thе whole webpage, colors, images, placement οf items, аnԁ thе whole scheme tightly bounded together. Thе purpose οf аnу design іѕ tο mаkе thе resulting product a more usable, effective, аnԁ efficient way tο ԁο thе job. In terms οf web design, thіѕ means thаt thе purpose ѕhουƖԁ bе tο mаkе thе website more usable, more goal-oriented аnԁ efficient іn terms οf using thе available resources. Thеrе аrе ѕοmе common ɡοοԁ practices thаt аrе οftеn advised tο web designers, thеѕе tips аrе аƖѕο useful fοr small business website owners ѕο thаt thеу саn mаkе sure thаt thеіr web design follows thе basic web design principles.
Colors
Colors аrе very іmрοrtаnt aspect οf аnу design scheme whether іt іѕ thе design οf a skyscraper, a car οr a website. Using thе rіɡht combination οf colors саn mаkе уουr website more usable аnԁ hence more goal-oriented. On thе οthеr hand using a bаԁ combination οf colors саn hаνе thе adverse affects οf mаkіnɡ уουr website nοt usable аnԁ far away frοm achieving thе goals.
Easy Navigational Structure
People generally ԁο nοt spend much time looking аt a website, ѕο іf thеу cant find thе information thеу needed іn thе first few seconds thеу аrе probably going tο leave уουr website аnԁ ɡο elsewhere. Sο іt іѕ іmрοrtаnt thаt уου рƖасе аƖƖ уουr іmрοrtаnt links аt a visible spot thаt саn bе easily seen whеn a user opens уουr pages.
Typography
Typography аƖѕο plays a very іmрοrtаnt role іn аnу design. Using thе rіɡht combination οf fonts аnԁ using thе rіɡht sizes саn mаkе a simple web document look elegant аnԁ pleasant. Thе fonts ѕhουƖԁ bе сhοοѕе based οn thе criteria thаt thеу ѕhουƖԁ look pretty іn large аѕ well аѕ small sizes. Thе font size уου υѕе οn уουr web design ѕhουƖԁ bе nеіthеr tοο small nοr tοο large.
Power Tools
Thеrе аrе lots οf things thаt people mіɡht want tο ԁο whеn thеу arrive οn уουr website. Fοr example thеу mіɡht want tο search уουr website fοr specific information. Fοr thаt уου provide thеm a search box conveniently located. Thеу mіɡht want tο share уουr website wіth thеіr friends οn social networks, ѕο уου ѕhουƖԁ hаνе buttons fοr thаt tοο. Mаkе sure thаt іt becomes easier fοr thе users tο υѕе уουr website іn thеіr οwn style.
Once уοu hаνе uploaded уοur website аnԁ іtѕ working, you still need tο collect user feedback οn уουr website tο see іf thеrе іѕ аnу feature thаt уουr visitors wουƖԁ Ɩіkе tο see οn уοur website.
30 June 2010
Website Design
More and more people are starting their own online businesses, and the competition within any particular marketplace is getting more and more intense. This is why having the right website design is now such an important part of the success of any online enterprise. Remember that your website is your store window, and just like any good store, the best window dressing will attract the customers in their droves.
Many newbies tend to make the same mistake, and that is to scrimp on the amount of money they spend on their website design. The problem is that there are a number of online businesses that offer cheap or even free website design. But the truth of the matter is that is that these low or no cost websites are very basic. Often they are simply templates that you can personalize in a limited way with choice of colors and font styles, but if you are serious about wanting to run a successful website, and your ambition is to handle lots and lots of traffic, you need a website that is capable of handling that sort of activity.
Finding a good website design company is not hard, and the website that you commission doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. But for a small outlay, you will be investing in your own future and your own online success. You must have the right tools for the job, and quality website design is fundamental to that success.
A good website design company will give you two essential things. The first thing is a website that looks aesthetically pleasing, and the second thing is a website that incorporates cutting edge technology and state-of-the-art knowhow. Let’s examine these two elements a little more closely.
Your website design needs to be aesthetically pleasing because you only get one chance of capturing a visitor’s attention. When traffic first arrives on the chosen landing page of your website, it is vitally important that you capture their immediate attention and interest. You need a visually stunning website that not only grabs and holds their attention, but also leads them further into the website to eventually clinch a sale. Lose them and they are gone forever.
But as well as being visually stunning, your website design must also include cutting edge technology. For example it should have the capability of streaming video, which is superb for great advertising and marketing messaging. It should also include state of the art coding in its links and structure because it is these links that enable search engine spiders to crawl all over website, indexing it for the major search engines which will enhance your website’s search page rankings.
A good website design company will also help you with your content, making sure that it is interesting, relative and informative, because this too will increase your website’s search engine ranking, making it much easier to find for customers seeking out the sort of products and or services that your website promotes.
Finally the right website design company will design your website making sure that it operates at a high conversion rate, meaning that it takes newly arrived traffic and stands a much better chance of converting casually interested visitors into cash paying customers. The best website design companies are not just there for the short ride. It’s not just a case of design a website, then leaving it all up to you to make the best of it on your own. A good website design company will be a permanent partner to you, always being there when you need them to tweak your website in one particular direction, or to insert some new form of technology that keeps your website at the cutting edge of current effective website design.
Many newbies tend to make the same mistake, and that is to scrimp on the amount of money they spend on their website design. The problem is that there are a number of online businesses that offer cheap or even free website design. But the truth of the matter is that is that these low or no cost websites are very basic. Often they are simply templates that you can personalize in a limited way with choice of colors and font styles, but if you are serious about wanting to run a successful website, and your ambition is to handle lots and lots of traffic, you need a website that is capable of handling that sort of activity.
Finding a good website design company is not hard, and the website that you commission doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. But for a small outlay, you will be investing in your own future and your own online success. You must have the right tools for the job, and quality website design is fundamental to that success.
A good website design company will give you two essential things. The first thing is a website that looks aesthetically pleasing, and the second thing is a website that incorporates cutting edge technology and state-of-the-art knowhow. Let’s examine these two elements a little more closely.
Your website design needs to be aesthetically pleasing because you only get one chance of capturing a visitor’s attention. When traffic first arrives on the chosen landing page of your website, it is vitally important that you capture their immediate attention and interest. You need a visually stunning website that not only grabs and holds their attention, but also leads them further into the website to eventually clinch a sale. Lose them and they are gone forever.
But as well as being visually stunning, your website design must also include cutting edge technology. For example it should have the capability of streaming video, which is superb for great advertising and marketing messaging. It should also include state of the art coding in its links and structure because it is these links that enable search engine spiders to crawl all over website, indexing it for the major search engines which will enhance your website’s search page rankings.
A good website design company will also help you with your content, making sure that it is interesting, relative and informative, because this too will increase your website’s search engine ranking, making it much easier to find for customers seeking out the sort of products and or services that your website promotes.
Finally the right website design company will design your website making sure that it operates at a high conversion rate, meaning that it takes newly arrived traffic and stands a much better chance of converting casually interested visitors into cash paying customers. The best website design companies are not just there for the short ride. It’s not just a case of design a website, then leaving it all up to you to make the best of it on your own. A good website design company will be a permanent partner to you, always being there when you need them to tweak your website in one particular direction, or to insert some new form of technology that keeps your website at the cutting edge of current effective website design.
06 May 2010
Website Design
Design is not a magic pill
If you don’t have a basic marketing plan in place, design can’t cover that up.
The first question we ask our clients when we talk about a new project is, “Who are you trying to reach?” It’s shocking how many businesses have put hours of thought into their design without ever considering the most basic of all marketing questions: “Who am I selling to?”
If you’re not clear on who you want to appeal to, the most gorgeous website design in the world won’t help you make sales.
Figure out who you want to reach first, and focus on design after you’ve made that decision. You’ll find your design works a lot better when every color choice and pretty picture is especially made to appeal to the people you want to draw to your business.
Design is NOT your message
Before you add design into your marketing mix, you have to know what you want to say.
That’s why it’s strange that there are people out there who think they can rely on their design alone to communicate their message.
Think about it this way: you have a beautiful website. It may stop people in their tracks long enough to want to learn more. That’s great, but if they read on only to discover that you have unfocused or boring content, you will lose them.
Good design may get customers in your door, but great content keeps them from walking right back out again.
When you implement both good design and solid, valuable content, you’ll double the power of either of these elements alone. Don’t rely on design alone to communicate your message.
Design is not about you
Don’t make design decisions based on personal likes or dislikes. Make them based on what appeals to your target market, and the colors and forms that will best communicate your message.
If your target market thinks yellow is an appealing, fresh, happy color that endears them to your services, then it doesn’t matter that yellow is your least favorite color.
When you let your site or materials reflect only your personal tastes, you’re risking your design not resonating at all with the people you want to bring to your business.
Check your ego at the door and think about who you want to sell to. For great prices on website design contact Scream Media today!
22 April 2010
What makes a successful Website?
A successful website meets clearly identified goals and provides compelling content that draws your audience to your site again and again. In addition it is easy to navigate and last to is attractively designed to complement the content.
When a visitor comes to your website they are making a lot of decisions very quickly. First they are trying to decide whether this website looks legitimate. Secondly, they are looking to see whether you actually do provide the product/ service that they were looking for. How long do they take to decide? Seconds. The appearance of the website is probably going to be the main key to decide whether your target audience hit the back arrow or proceed along the website. Just think of how many times you didn't go into a shop, because of its appearance from the outside.
Basically, users’ habits on the Web aren’t that different from customers’ habits in a store. Visitors glance at each new page, scan some of the text, and click on the first link that catches their interest or vaguely resembles the thing they’re looking for. In fact, there are large parts of the page they don’t even look at.
Most users search for something interesting (or useful) and clickable; as soon as some promising candidates are found, users click. If the new page doesn’t meet users’ expectations, the Back button is clicked and the search process is continued.
Users appreciate quality and credibility. If a page provides users with high-quality content, they are willing to compromise the content with advertisements and the design of the site. This is the reason why not-that-well-designed web-sites with high-quality content gain a lot of traffic over years. Content is more important than the design which supports it.
Users don’t read, they scan. Analyzing a web-page, users search for some fixed points or anchors which would guide them through the content of the page.
Have you ever been to a beautiful looking website from a large corporation or organization only to leave in frustration because you could not find what you are looking for ?
Your website should be easy to navigate. You should assume that your audience may not enter the site from the home page. This means that there should be no dead ends. Every page should have consistent easy to understand links back to other pages.
The easiest way to create an easy to navigate site is to take the time to plan the structure of your site before you start building it. This simply means you decide roughly what pages your site will have and how they will link together. Once you do this you can easily create a set of links between your various pages which makes everything easy to find. This is also called a sitemap.
When a visitor comes to your website they are making a lot of decisions very quickly. First they are trying to decide whether this website looks legitimate. Secondly, they are looking to see whether you actually do provide the product/ service that they were looking for. How long do they take to decide? Seconds. The appearance of the website is probably going to be the main key to decide whether your target audience hit the back arrow or proceed along the website. Just think of how many times you didn't go into a shop, because of its appearance from the outside.
Basically, users’ habits on the Web aren’t that different from customers’ habits in a store. Visitors glance at each new page, scan some of the text, and click on the first link that catches their interest or vaguely resembles the thing they’re looking for. In fact, there are large parts of the page they don’t even look at.
Most users search for something interesting (or useful) and clickable; as soon as some promising candidates are found, users click. If the new page doesn’t meet users’ expectations, the Back button is clicked and the search process is continued.
Users appreciate quality and credibility. If a page provides users with high-quality content, they are willing to compromise the content with advertisements and the design of the site. This is the reason why not-that-well-designed web-sites with high-quality content gain a lot of traffic over years. Content is more important than the design which supports it.
Users don’t read, they scan. Analyzing a web-page, users search for some fixed points or anchors which would guide them through the content of the page.
Have you ever been to a beautiful looking website from a large corporation or organization only to leave in frustration because you could not find what you are looking for ?
Your website should be easy to navigate. You should assume that your audience may not enter the site from the home page. This means that there should be no dead ends. Every page should have consistent easy to understand links back to other pages.
The easiest way to create an easy to navigate site is to take the time to plan the structure of your site before you start building it. This simply means you decide roughly what pages your site will have and how they will link together. Once you do this you can easily create a set of links between your various pages which makes everything easy to find. This is also called a sitemap.
18 January 2010
The makings of a Great Website
In real estate, it's location, location, location. In website design, it's content, content, content... followed very closely by eye appeal, which is where a graphic designer can play a substantial role.
The SEO (Search Engine Optimization) portion of a website's foundation must be considered first to develop essential keywords. These keywords are then used throughout the site copy, the attending blog, and the marketing articles which will proliferate incoming links, something the ever-hungry search engines love.
If a gorgeous movie star becomes severely ill, her beauty becomes unimportant. This same concept holds true for website development. By building the functionality first for a website, and then adding beauty - an appealing graphical look - secondarily, the purpose for having the website is well served.
Many people who read web pages and view their images are motivated by what they "like" versus what they "need," so the key role of graphics assumes an importance right after functionality, SEO, and content. The content plus the graphics appeal are what leads to conversion on a site.
Your website is a marketing tool. It is the key way you gain presence and creditability on the internet. It's the way you turn eye appeal into buy appeal. The appearance of your website is the representation of all of the ideas you want to put forth under the umbrella of your business and they deserve thoughtful consideration prior to the creation of a graphical appearance.
1. Have you defined your target market and do you know what will appeal to them visually?
2. What is the actual purpose behind your site? To sell, to entertain, to enlighten?
3. What is the product you are offering? How should it be positioned in the market and how should it look?
4. Is your graphics theme consistent? Is your branding carried throughout the site as well as in your product line?
5. Have you gathered fill in photos or created consistent graphics such as bullets that match in color and typeface?
The design of pages in a website must first be functional, and then have eye appeal graphically. A great web designer will use the appropriate software to permit all jpeg and gif files to either load quickly or to hyperlink the images to load in a new page. A great web designer will use alt tags to describe the images in the coding behind these images so that the search engine spiders and read them and rank the page accordingly.
,
Some key graphical elements that can be used in website design are:
1.Branding. Think of branding as predefining what a company is all about in the minds of its clients. It encompasses all the factors that makeup both the recognition and interaction parts of doing business with that company. Branding helps to establish a sense of perceived value for your company, your product and your delivery of a service. Simply by seeing your graphics pieces, people will begin to identify with what values you are striving to achieve.
2. Logo. Your logo should represent what your company stands for and what function it performs. The best logos are sophisticated and simple, and they are challenging to design. Your logo should have a strong, balanced image with no extras to clutter its look. Bold logos are easier to see than those with thin delicate lines.
3.Tag Lines You would be well served to research the tag lines of other companies before you design your own. These few words can become part of the branding that tells people graphically who you are, what you do, and how you do it. My tag line is "Websites that work for you."
Try to keep the size of your web pages in the vicinity of 50K. When you hire a website designer, this size web page will still give a relatively fast download time on a standard modem, although dial up access to the internet has waned with the insurgence of broadband and FIOS. If your site or any of its pages loads slowly, you will have to ask your designer to size down the graphic images, replace them with a smaller images, or replace them with the HTML default bullets, horizontal rules, or colored heading text.
Are YOU ready to create a powerful brand and website that delivers? The outstanding H2L Team are waiting to take your call.
Tel: 021 559 0800 or complete our contact form
The SEO (Search Engine Optimization) portion of a website's foundation must be considered first to develop essential keywords. These keywords are then used throughout the site copy, the attending blog, and the marketing articles which will proliferate incoming links, something the ever-hungry search engines love.
If a gorgeous movie star becomes severely ill, her beauty becomes unimportant. This same concept holds true for website development. By building the functionality first for a website, and then adding beauty - an appealing graphical look - secondarily, the purpose for having the website is well served.
Many people who read web pages and view their images are motivated by what they "like" versus what they "need," so the key role of graphics assumes an importance right after functionality, SEO, and content. The content plus the graphics appeal are what leads to conversion on a site.
Your website is a marketing tool. It is the key way you gain presence and creditability on the internet. It's the way you turn eye appeal into buy appeal. The appearance of your website is the representation of all of the ideas you want to put forth under the umbrella of your business and they deserve thoughtful consideration prior to the creation of a graphical appearance.
1. Have you defined your target market and do you know what will appeal to them visually?
2. What is the actual purpose behind your site? To sell, to entertain, to enlighten?
3. What is the product you are offering? How should it be positioned in the market and how should it look?
4. Is your graphics theme consistent? Is your branding carried throughout the site as well as in your product line?
5. Have you gathered fill in photos or created consistent graphics such as bullets that match in color and typeface?
The design of pages in a website must first be functional, and then have eye appeal graphically. A great web designer will use the appropriate software to permit all jpeg and gif files to either load quickly or to hyperlink the images to load in a new page. A great web designer will use alt tags to describe the images in the coding behind these images so that the search engine spiders and read them and rank the page accordingly.
,
Some key graphical elements that can be used in website design are:
1.Branding. Think of branding as predefining what a company is all about in the minds of its clients. It encompasses all the factors that makeup both the recognition and interaction parts of doing business with that company. Branding helps to establish a sense of perceived value for your company, your product and your delivery of a service. Simply by seeing your graphics pieces, people will begin to identify with what values you are striving to achieve.
2. Logo. Your logo should represent what your company stands for and what function it performs. The best logos are sophisticated and simple, and they are challenging to design. Your logo should have a strong, balanced image with no extras to clutter its look. Bold logos are easier to see than those with thin delicate lines.
3.Tag Lines You would be well served to research the tag lines of other companies before you design your own. These few words can become part of the branding that tells people graphically who you are, what you do, and how you do it. My tag line is "Websites that work for you."
Try to keep the size of your web pages in the vicinity of 50K. When you hire a website designer, this size web page will still give a relatively fast download time on a standard modem, although dial up access to the internet has waned with the insurgence of broadband and FIOS. If your site or any of its pages loads slowly, you will have to ask your designer to size down the graphic images, replace them with a smaller images, or replace them with the HTML default bullets, horizontal rules, or colored heading text.
Are YOU ready to create a powerful brand and website that delivers? The outstanding H2L Team are waiting to take your call.
Tel: 021 559 0800 or complete our contact form
08 January 2010
Free Websites
So you need a website, you checked on Google and there are tons of free websites available, wow great! or is it. There is an old saying "there's no such thing as a free lunch" Well on the web as in life that is very true. A free website is exactly that free.
Parking your site at a free host is often like building a house on sand. It may be quick and and it may seem easy at first, but I can almost guarantee you it won't last long.
I don't think many people realize the number of disadvantages that go along with creating free websites. Hopefully this article will shed some light on the subject.
Many beginners gravitate toward the free websites because they feel that having a professional site built is too expensive and/or too difficult.
I realize the website building process may be intimidating for you if you've never created a site before. You may be worried about spending your money on something that is unfamiliar and difficult. I can totally understand that.
Let me assure you that building a profession website is not expensive at all. The average website costs between R5000 - R8000. Consider the cost of placing one advert in your local newspaper and or community free ads. The cheapest we could find is R450 per advert, we are talking tiny black and white community free ads, which lets face it most people just throw away or use it to line the floor of the birds cage. If like your website this was to be shown to an audience every day you would be looking at R 164,250 a year. Does a website build sound expensive now? I thought not.
Search engines are an excellent source of free traffic so you definitely do not want to miss out on the great, targeted traffic you can receive.
Years ago it was super easy to get listed no matter what kind of site you had (free or paid). But now with all the spam techniques going around (particularly with free websites) the search engines have gotten very selective about who they add.
Here are the reasons I believe it's hard to get listed in search engines with a free website:
1. Too small and "unimportant." Most free websites are generally small (under 5 pages) and offer very little information about a focused theme or concept. They also tend to have more links to external sites than they do to their own internal pages.
Search engines are looking for meaty sites that offer information on a particular theme with a good amount of content -- at least 10 pages.
2. No upkeep. A lot of people that build free websites often abandon them within a few weeks or months which causes a lot of broken links, missing images, etc.
The search engines are getting smarter and for all we know they may have red flags in their algorithm (the formula that determines page rankings). So when they see that a site is hosted on a free web host's server, they may rank them lower...if at all.
For example, I wouldn't be surprised if the search engines had a script that says something like: "If site X is hosted at this-free-domain.com then "ignore".
I have no proof of this, but due to the fact so many people email me with this same search engine problem, it can't be a coincidence that people using free websites have trouble getting ranked.
Do a search for just about anything on Google now. I bet you'll see very few (if any) free websites on natural results (left hand side of Google - under sponsored links sky line)
3. No links pointing to the site. Because of reasons 1 and 2, most other webmasters and important web directories won't link to a free website
They may not look as professional and people don't want to give a free link to a poorly developed site with pop-ups and banners all over the place.
Plus, they also know that free websites generally have short life spans for various reasons.
Search engines use formulas and can see that no one is linking back to your site so they may ignore it. These days, the kinds of websites linking to you is very important for achieving a good search engine rank.
The bottom line: Free websites get very little respect out here on the Internet.
Have a quick look at our SEO page for more information on Search Engine Optimisation
I personally don't know of a single successful website owner that built their business website on a free website.
If you were starting an offline business, you'd plan on investing some money right? Well, doing business on the web is no different despite many beliefs. If you don't plan to invest anything to start a business then I'd have to question your business plan.
There are NO SHORTCUTS to success.
You can't expect people to take you or your website seriously if your website address starts with something like is http://myfreesite...Or worse still they just cant find you on the internet.
And if the address doesn't tip your visitor's off, the banners and pop-ups you'll be forced to display sure will. Also, the free templates they provide are generally very basic and lacking a professional appearance.
Think about it. Wouldn't you be a little suspicious if the web address of a business was something like http://members.aol.com/users/myhomepage.html with pop-ups and banners instead of www.companyABC.com? Would you buy something online form a website like that? Or even pay the physical business a visit? Probably not
Web surfers are becoming much more Internet savvy and they can smell a "cheap site" a mile away. You don't want to lose credibility and potential customers because your site looks cheap.
Not to mention, you can only do some much with a free website So if you want to add shopping carts, order forms and additional interactive features you probably won't be able to do this because most free websites don't offer that kind of functionality.
It is quite expensive for these companies to run a free hosting service because the company has to pay for the space and the bandwidth (traffic) to host thousands of web sites. And since they offering these sites for free, some companies find themselves loosing money very quickly.
They try to keep their service free by slapping banners on the member's pages, hoping that people will click and purchase products...but think about it...how many banners have you clicked on lately?
Exactly.
Then some may try to redeem themselves by charging a "small" fee for their service. And of course, if you aren't willing to pay for your site, you can say "bye bye" to all of your hard work.
Almost all free website providers let you know in their terms and conditions that there are NO GUARANTEES when it comes to keeping your site live forever. Which means they reserve the right to remove your site at anytime, regardless of how much work you've put into it.
I hope this article helps you make a more informed decision when starting your business on the internet, if you would like H2L to give you a free quote, just complete our quick enquiry form and one of our team will come back to you within 24 hours. I think its only fair to end as I started. If your serious about your business online, remember "there's no such thing as a free lunch"
Parking your site at a free host is often like building a house on sand. It may be quick and and it may seem easy at first, but I can almost guarantee you it won't last long.
I don't think many people realize the number of disadvantages that go along with creating free websites. Hopefully this article will shed some light on the subject.
Disadvantages of Free Websites
- Limited web page space
- Can't add interactive features (chat rooms, message boards, games, online ordering etc.)
- Search engines often ignore them A HUGE disadvantage!
- Your visitors may doubt your credibility
- May have banners and/or pop ads on your homepage and/or all of your pages
- Long and hard-to-remember web address (instead of yourdomain.co.za)
- No guarantees of site availability and longevity
- No branded emails addresses (you@yourdomain.co.za)
- No help and support options
- Often not be free forever - watch out for the 30 trial catch
Advantages of Owning Your Own bespoke built co.za website
- Easy to remember website address (yourdomain.co.za)
- No banners or popups
- Easier to rank in search engines (Google, Yahoo etc.)
- You have more control over the look and feel of your website.
- Multiple branded email addresses (you@yourdomain.co.za)
- Plenty of web page space for site expansion
- No worries of site being removed unexpectedly
- Looks more professional
- More flexibility for design and functionality
- Help is readily available
Many beginners gravitate toward the free websites because they feel that having a professional site built is too expensive and/or too difficult.
I realize the website building process may be intimidating for you if you've never created a site before. You may be worried about spending your money on something that is unfamiliar and difficult. I can totally understand that.
Let me assure you that building a profession website is not expensive at all. The average website costs between R5000 - R8000. Consider the cost of placing one advert in your local newspaper and or community free ads. The cheapest we could find is R450 per advert, we are talking tiny black and white community free ads, which lets face it most people just throw away or use it to line the floor of the birds cage. If like your website this was to be shown to an audience every day you would be looking at R 164,250 a year. Does a website build sound expensive now? I thought not.
Search Engines Will Ignore You!
This is probably the biggest disadvantage of going the free website route - especially if you are trying to make money and attract free traffic to your site. There's no proof that you can never get listed with Google or Yahoo with a free website, but it's evident that the cards are stacked against you.
Search engines are an excellent source of free traffic so you definitely do not want to miss out on the great, targeted traffic you can receive.
Years ago it was super easy to get listed no matter what kind of site you had (free or paid). But now with all the spam techniques going around (particularly with free websites) the search engines have gotten very selective about who they add.
Here are the reasons I believe it's hard to get listed in search engines with a free website:
1. Too small and "unimportant." Most free websites are generally small (under 5 pages) and offer very little information about a focused theme or concept. They also tend to have more links to external sites than they do to their own internal pages.
Search engines are looking for meaty sites that offer information on a particular theme with a good amount of content -- at least 10 pages.
2. No upkeep. A lot of people that build free websites often abandon them within a few weeks or months which causes a lot of broken links, missing images, etc.
The search engines are getting smarter and for all we know they may have red flags in their algorithm (the formula that determines page rankings). So when they see that a site is hosted on a free web host's server, they may rank them lower...if at all.
For example, I wouldn't be surprised if the search engines had a script that says something like: "If site X is hosted at this-free-domain.com then "ignore".
I have no proof of this, but due to the fact so many people email me with this same search engine problem, it can't be a coincidence that people using free websites have trouble getting ranked.
Do a search for just about anything on Google now. I bet you'll see very few (if any) free websites on natural results (left hand side of Google - under sponsored links sky line)
3. No links pointing to the site. Because of reasons 1 and 2, most other webmasters and important web directories won't link to a free website
They may not look as professional and people don't want to give a free link to a poorly developed site with pop-ups and banners all over the place.
Plus, they also know that free websites generally have short life spans for various reasons.
Search engines use formulas and can see that no one is linking back to your site so they may ignore it. These days, the kinds of websites linking to you is very important for achieving a good search engine rank.
The bottom line: Free websites get very little respect out here on the Internet.
Have a quick look at our SEO page for more information on Search Engine Optimisation
Free Websites & Ecommerce Don't Mix
It amazes me how many people tell me that they want to start a business website but don't want to spend any money.I personally don't know of a single successful website owner that built their business website on a free website.
If you were starting an offline business, you'd plan on investing some money right? Well, doing business on the web is no different despite many beliefs. If you don't plan to invest anything to start a business then I'd have to question your business plan.
There are NO SHORTCUTS to success.
You can't expect people to take you or your website seriously if your website address starts with something like is http://myfreesite...Or worse still they just cant find you on the internet.
And if the address doesn't tip your visitor's off, the banners and pop-ups you'll be forced to display sure will. Also, the free templates they provide are generally very basic and lacking a professional appearance.
Think about it. Wouldn't you be a little suspicious if the web address of a business was something like http://members.aol.com/users/myhomepage.html with pop-ups and banners instead of www.companyABC.com? Would you buy something online form a website like that? Or even pay the physical business a visit? Probably not
Web surfers are becoming much more Internet savvy and they can smell a "cheap site" a mile away. You don't want to lose credibility and potential customers because your site looks cheap.
Not to mention, you can only do some much with a free website So if you want to add shopping carts, order forms and additional interactive features you probably won't be able to do this because most free websites don't offer that kind of functionality.
More Problems with Free Websites that offer Free Hosting
They try to keep their service free by slapping banners on the member's pages, hoping that people will click and purchase products...but think about it...how many banners have you clicked on lately?
Exactly.
Then some may try to redeem themselves by charging a "small" fee for their service. And of course, if you aren't willing to pay for your site, you can say "bye bye" to all of your hard work.
Almost all free website providers let you know in their terms and conditions that there are NO GUARANTEES when it comes to keeping your site live forever. Which means they reserve the right to remove your site at anytime, regardless of how much work you've put into it.
I hope this article helps you make a more informed decision when starting your business on the internet, if you would like H2L to give you a free quote, just complete our quick enquiry form and one of our team will come back to you within 24 hours. I think its only fair to end as I started. If your serious about your business online, remember "there's no such thing as a free lunch"
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