A good webpage should allow an average member of the public to understand what the page is about or the services provided almost instantly.

When people visit your webpage, they will want to be entertained or informed, to join a community or to purchase goods or services.  If you have a good web design, you will easily demonstrate to people how you can meet their needs. Visitors will not stay on your site for any length of time if they do not instantly feel that it will do this. Manchester web design can help in creating websites that capture your visitor’s attention quickly.

This is why there should be a clear navigation scheme and layout on a company's website. If people feel that they can instantly understand your website, they are likely to view your business favourably and have a better chance of buying products from you.

People generally go online to succeed in fulfilling a goal. You should aim to provide the information visitors to your website are looking for as simply as possible. If you do not give them the specifics they are after in a concise and easy-to-understand way, they will assume you cannot help them and your website will have failed in its purpose.

It is also essential for a web design to be visually appealing to casual browsers. There are countless poorly-made webpages, with garish or jarring colour schemes and a failure to appreciate the browsing experience common features of these.

Many web designers do not appreciate the importance of contrast when creating sites. It is very difficult for people to read lightly-toned text against a pale or white background, so your company might not be viewed professionally if the content on your pages is hard to read and visitors will be turned away from your products.

The page layout should be clearly organised and the colour scheme and content should blend together seamlessly, rather than seem disjointed and confused. Web users almost intrinsically avoid areas that look like advertisements, so blinking or animated images, flashing text and other attention-grabbing features can be counterproductive.

Content should be well-spaced and easy to scan, with short paragraphs, simple languages and common fonts particularly effective.

Consistency throughout every area of a company's online presence is also highly recommended. If users have already experienced your website design on your page, they will know what to expect when visiting other parts of the site. If the appearance of the pages constantly changes, users will begin to dislike browsing it and might visit a competitor instead.

Call Sizzle Media web design Manchester today on 0161 820 8577 to find out more.

Making sure your website design is minimal and clean can play a vital part of any online strategy.

In the early days of the internet, webpages were cluttered, with pictures, unpleasant colour schemes, Comic Sans fonts and clipart images. This has now become obsolete and web users nowadays require a minimal site without unnecessary information and a clean and simple appearance. A great example where minimal design can be seen in action is ecommerce web design where shopping experience has superseded flashy graphics.

However, minimal sites should maximise their functionality and elegance, allowing for user interaction to quickly and easily find relevant details about the services required.

There are many ways to ensure your website is minimalist and functional, and how these are implemented may depend on the products and services you are offering.

Navigating through text

Some websites have complicated designs where the visitor must hover the cursor over a hyperlinked image or flash movie before they can find out how to navigate the page. Using text to allow people to click through to the pages they need is a very easy way to meet this trends in website design and is also great for Search Engines.

White spaces

White spaces reduce clutter on the website and direct the eyes of visitors to relevant content on the page. It looks clean and simple, while highlighting the minimalist aspects of the site and minimising loading times. However this is not always true. In the hands of a skilled website designer sites loaded with colour can be a visual feast.

It is usually a good idea to only use a few colours in your website design, as this can contribute to an attractive layout while emphasising particular links and products, and also to reinforce your corporate branding.

Typography

In a minimalist website design, typography can be one way to set your company apart from the rest. You can develop a sophisticated and professional website or promote your business' brand through your choice of fonts.

This will help you to highlight the key parts of your website to your visitors and significantly improve the browsing experience for them.

Minimalist website designs will not work for all audiences and all companies and some people may find a large quantity of content suits their needs more. However, a well-designed minimal site will not overshadow the products on offer and will help all web users of all ages to be able to understand and navigate your site effectively.

It has been a trend in website design for many years and has many benefits for both companies and web users. This has proven that you do not have to put complicated or distracting features on your website for it to be effective.

People will intrinsically notice the colour scheme of your website the moment they visit your website. Ideally, you want this part of a website design to be subtle and appealing, rather than overly-dramatic or jarring.

There are many factors to consider when choosing the colours of your website. Although some of these will depend on your personal opinion or those of the web design firm you choose, Hopefully that will be us at Web Design Manchester, there are some considerations every business should make:

Contrast and legibility

Making sure the website text and images are clearly defined against the background colours of the website should be considered as the most important aspect of a website. Most people will find it difficult to read text that does not contrast with the background, and some individuals can even be colour-blind to these differences.

Black text on a white background is particularly popular, with white text on a black background also commonplace. Simplicity is a good idea in website design so more unusual colour schemes are usually a bad idea unless you are an experienced website designer.

Colour theory

Interior designers, painters and many other professionals have to understand colour theory to some extent and this should also be implemented in a website design. Although you may be able to intrinsically understand which tones go together and which clash, if you are unsure about it you may wish to read about this subject in detail. Adobe have created a site that helps you choose complimentary colour combinations, see http://kuler.adobe.com/

If you can apply colour theory in your website, visitors will find it easy on the eye and will be more willing to browse and purchase products from it.

Audience psychology

Understanding the demographics you wish to target can go some way in deciding a colour scheme for your website. Different factors, such as age, group affiliation, culture, preferred content and gender can impact the colour selections chosen in webpage design and other themes you may wish to implement.

Although many companies will only be able to make an educated guess as to which colour will appeal to their intended audience the most, you may wish to visit the websites of competitors or conduct a poll among customers to decide on the colour scheme.

Different colours typically affect people in different psychological ways. We will all be able to associate red with anger or passion, blue with calmness and green with the environment and considering this aspect when choosing a website colour can boost your company's brand and help you express the business' ethos.

To discuss how Web Design Manchester can help with creating an attractive website that is designed specifically for your target market, call us today on 0161 820 8577 or email us at info@sizzlemedia.co.uk.

Search engine optimisation, or SEO, should be an integral part of every company's web marketing strategy. Proper SEO increases the likelihood of your business appearing highly in Google's page rankings, which will maximise your traffic and lead to a higher number of customers.

There are some key aspects to maintaining a strong SEO strategy that can be implemented into your web design and can help your business boost its potential. SEO Manchester has an experienced team of experts that can help businesses large and small rise up the search results in an organic and effective manner.

You should keep in mind that the ambition is to demonstrate to search engines that your website is an authority in your specific product area. This is by having continuously-updating content; that is of a high-quality, unique and contains specific keywords.

Keywords are the phrases you might expect a person who is trying to find your services will type into Google. For instance, a page that specialises in web design in Manchester will use this phrase and a variety of similar words throughout its content.

Google will therefore understand that this website has a lot of information about Manchester web design services and will put it higher in its PageRank system when people search for this subject.

The web design can be used to highlight keywords or insert hyperlinks into them, which can boost the page's SEO and provide visitors with an easy way to access the products they wish to purchase.

Continuously updating the content on the webpage, such as by adding blog posts, news articles or press releases on a regular basis, will also lead Google to see the company behind it as active and will boost the business' SEO strategy.

It is important for all of the content uploaded to be unique, as Google will not rank duplicated or plagiarised content highly. It should also all make sense and be good quality, as visitors will land on these pages and will be unlikely to view a site favourably if they are full of nonsense content.

Google's algorithms are very clever and will recognise if there are any black hat SEO practices occurring, such as stuffing pages with keywords or spamming other websites with links to your page. Companies that do this can be penalised, which can involve cutting their page from Google rankings altogether or re-evaluating its PageRank in other ways, which usually results in it falling below many of its competitors.

Failing to appear highly in Google can seriously harm a business. Google is the most visited website in the UK and internationally and is the most popular search engine by far, where the vast majority of searches for information online begin. Internet users will not be able to find your company if it does not accommodate Google through properly-integrated SEO.

SEO is now viewed as an essential feature for any website and a web design should make it simple and hassle-free for a company to implement its own SEO strategy.

To find out how Sizzle Media’s SEO Manchester team can help your business get excellent results online, call us today on 0161 820 8577.

Writing for a webpage is considerably different to writing in other forms, such as in letters, stories or for print. When searching for a product or service online, people will not read every part of a webpage but will skim through the site to find relevant information.

You should highlight words and phrases that readers might be looking for so they stand out and so your page is easy to navigate. Bullet points, numbered lists and text split up into sections can enhance the website layout and make sure people can easily find the facts they are looking for.

The posts found on the Sizzle Media web design Manchester blog will give you an indication as to how to prepare content for an online audience.

Sentences should be simple and easy to read and set out in a comprehensive and informative way. Sub-headings should be clear, meaningful and contain keywords so people know what they contain.

Reading on the web

Think about how you read websites you come across. You will probably scroll up and down the page, trying to find the information you want as quickly as possible.

People will expect a website to be much shorter than they might want their other reading material to be and will be put off by overly-long articles and complicated or confusing paragraphs. English-language websites will still be able to reach an international audience through their online presence and the language used should accommodate this

Although certain webpages may frequently be read in full, such as newspaper articles, recipes, stories and blogs, it is a more user-friendly and pleasurable layout if the text is punctuated with images and broken up on the page.

The F-shaped reading pattern

Studies have shown that web users typically scan pages in an F-shape. They will look along the top of the page and read the first few words in every paragraph to find out whether or not the content is relevant to them.

This should be a key consideration when writing for an internet audience. The most important facts and products that you wish to highlight to your readers should stand out and be located somewhere within this F-shape.

Other experts discuss the concept of the reverse pyramid. This means the most important information should be put at the top of any article online so web users and search engines can instantly understand the concept of the page.

Search engine optimisation

Search engine optimisation should always be a consideration when writing for a business webpage. You should take advantage of keywords, dynamic content and inbound linking in your website content to boost your position on Google and enhance your internet marketing strategy.

Every aspect of the textual content on your webpage should be written for readers and search engines and should focus on usability and simplicity. There are other considerations that must be made, such as the type of font and the contrast between the colour of the font and the background of the webpage. Website design professionals may be able to help you to understand these issues.

Social media is becoming an ever-more important way for people to stay connected and it is always a good idea to incorporate this into your company's web design. Networking online is becoming a vital method for businesses to communicate with their audience and other firms and ensuring your web design can attract traffic to social media profiles without distracting from the content on the webpage can significantly assist in this.

Almost every niche interest group and targeted demographic can be easily found and spoken to through a properly set-out marketing strategy combining effective web design and social media. Web design Manchester has always included social media tools such as twitter and Facebook in to all our websites, to help clients understand how social media can benefit their businesses.

Social media has become a feature on smartphones and other hand-held devices, allowing people to network on-the-go. The immediate future is likely to see a massive expansion in this and firms that fail in their online networking strategies will get left behind in this marketplace.

This is why it is important that your web design can cope with a variety of different platforms and is as attractive on mobile devices as it is on a desktop computer, as this will mean your business will be prepared to accommodate this emerging trend and should prepare it for the future.

Web design Manchester successfully integrates links to a company's pages on Twitter, Facebook, Google + or other sites so they can boost the business' marketing strategy; and as it is likely that social media will become even more embedded into everyday life as companies should aim to heighten their exposure on social media as quickly as possible.

There are many methods available that can allow firms to implement their social media strategies into their web design. Some opt to use 'follow' links that take users through to the company's social media page, while others have real-time Twitter feeds or post a tweet to lead followers to a new post on their webpage.

The professionals at Web design Manchester will be able to advise you in how to fit a social media strategy into your webpage, providing a consistent and attractive brand throughout your online activities and boosting your audience and the demand for your product.

If your social media strategy complements the web design properly, it can really benefit the webpage by creating a clear, professional and comprehensive appearance, enhancing the impression visitors will get of a company's expertise and quality.

Social media will enable satisfied customers to promote your brand to other people and this aspect of networking is also set for a massive expansion in the future. This is why you must ensure you consider how to boost your social media presence throughout your web design.

Web design should be user friendly and attractive to visitors, enhancing their first impressions of a website and leading them to spend more time on it, perhaps purchasing content or sharing it with their friends on social networking sites. At Web Design Manchester, we consider great design as the corner stone of successful website.

There are many aspects involved in producing a strong web design, but here are some key features of a good webpage:

-          It loads quickly

Although you may have a high-speed internet connection, not everyone in the UK does. Figures from OFCOM's UK Fixed Broadband Map 2011 reveal around 14.8 per cent of residents and businesses receive internet access of under 2Mbps, although 39 per cent of the region has superfast internet speeds of over 24Mbps.

Even if your site looks brilliant, people will not pay any attention to it if it does not load properly. Many of the best sites have streamlined and easy-to-navigate pages and avoid unnecessary graphics, such as Google's homepage.

-          Compatibility

Many people do not have a website that can be viewed properly in all browsers and on different platforms. There are many different browsers in use at the moment and although the majority of web users have Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome, you will miss out on a sizable chunk of audience if you fail to make certain that it works properly on other popular browsers, such as Safari or Opera.

Further to this, companies are increasingly making sure their website design accommodates hand-held computers and mobile devices and their associated browsers. This emerging market is likely to become incredibly important in the immediate future and companies that fail to design their pages in a way that is compatible with this technology will be left behind.

Computers nowadays are set to a vast array of screen resolutions and you cannot expect web users to change their settings in order to visit your website. Therefore, you should design your site so it can be viewed in all resolutions.

-          Clear

Casual web users will not stay on your website if they cannot navigate it properly or find the information they were looking for and will instead close your page and search for a competitor. Failing to clearly display the products and services available on your site will reduce your custom and harm your business.

It is a good idea to use inbound linking throughout the website so visitors can easily go between pages. Menus on the side or top of the page leading to all of the different areas of the site will allow web users to easily find the information they are looking for. Areas of the page that cannot be easily accessed are likely to be missed out in comparison to other pages and you will lose out on business.

There are many other factors involved in having a successful web design and many people need to contact a professional web design company to make sure their page is going to be successful.

A properly-designed website can help a small company reach an international audience cheaply, effectively and flexibly. Businesses can adapt to changing market conditions and trends and update their pages with new products and services through an effective internet strategy.

Good e-commerce sites are convenient for shoppers and are open all day, every day, allowing sales to be made at any time by anyone.

Internet shopping has rapidly become a challenge to traditional high street retail and is becoming a vital place to businesses to operate in. Bricks-and-mortar stores can highlight their presence, sell more of their stock and keep in contact with their customer base throughout promotions, renovations to their commercial property and relocations to other premises. People can be informed of new products and services and will be able to highlight a business to their friends through social networking.

Succeeding in online retail can boost a firm's profits by cutting out other expenses and enabling them to market and sell directly to their client base over the internet. Web Design Manchester are highly skilled at creating websites that attract new customers.

New business opportunities can be found online and organisations can find a variety of ways to grow by pursuing an internet strategy and rolling out a well-designed website.

In many cases, a company's first website will be a small page providing details about the services the firm provides where it is located and its contact details. These may function to give people who are already interested in the company further information about what the enterprise actually does and could even interest new visitors.

As the website and company expands, it frequently begins to use search engine optimisation strategies to attract relevant traffic and heighten the business' reach. It could also begin to provide a list of products and services and begin to become more expansive in scope. Contact forms, blogs and sales points are often added at this time.

Many businesses find their online presence is more effective than their stores on the high street and can find great benefit from using the internet. A simple, user-friendly and functional website design is essential for this and will ensure that any interested consumers will be attracted to the company and willing to purchase goods from it.

In some instances, the company's site can be designed in an ineffective way, which can lead many businesses to want to find companies like Web Design Manchester. These professionals can ensure an online strategy works to its full potential, providing a convenient and easy place for web users to visit and purchase products and services. Call 0161 820 8577 to find out how the internet can benefit your business.

We would like to thank all of our clients for their continued business throughout the year and for staying with us. At Sizzle Media we have always tried our level best to deliver a quality service and this year we were again awarded as a Top 100 Recommended Agency outside of London, based on business performance and more importantly customer feedback.

Although we have been in midst of a credit crunch, every month we get reports from clients about how their websites are making a massive difference to their business. Blacks Business Brokers recently said that they had improved their business by over 200% since March 2011 as a direct result of the site. Niche Kitchens in Rawtenstall is having a record year citing her website as her main business development tool. Whitestone Solicitors in Rochdale have seen possibly the most impressive results achieved by Sizzle Media for SEO, taking them on to page one on Google for some of the most sought after search terms in the legal profession. Possibly the most glowing praise came from our very first client Vicki Ormerod who recently started a new venture called the Cake Whisk, making wedding and cupcakes, saying she is almost fully booked for the whole of 2012 via enquiries received from her blogsite. We can’t promise to make it happen for everyone, but if you follow the basics we can really help you make a difference to your business.

Our offices will be closed from 23^rd December till the 3^rd of January. If you have any problems then email support@sizzlemedia.co.uk and we will get back to you urgently.

We hope you have a great Christmas and New Year, and we wish you all the very best for 2012.

From everyone at Sizzle Media

At Sizzle Media our services include basic, business and Enterprise E-commerce sites and SEO services for businesses in the Greater Manchester region. We tend to work around the North West because we like to meet our clients face to face, shake hands, have a cuppa and do business the old fashioned way. Apparently for web design agencies in Manchester this is not the norm, where prices are given over the phone before even fully understanding what you require. As a RAR top 100 Agency we like to spend just a bit of time discovering how we can make a difference to your business, so we can add you to our client base that already generate over £700,000 a day through websites and marketing campaigns we conduct on their behalf.

If you’re looking for a Manchester based web design and Search Engine Optimisation agency, and feel that you’re probably not leveraging maximum results from the internet, you may already be aware that the UK E-Commerce market has been forecast to rise by a whopping 14% over the next year, to an eye watering £50.3 billion. It’s hard to believe that this online market hardly existed 15 years ago, imagine what the internet and business will be like in another 15 years, just the thought gives us goose bumps.

We appreciate that we are surrounded by economic uncertainty at the moment, but one thing seems certain, investing in a good quality E-commerce could give your business the boost it needs. Retail sales and the high street is diminishing before our eyes and traditional sales channels are becoming saturated as everyone is trying to fight for our hard earned money, yet the internet keeps on growing and those that focus on this medium are enjoying growing profits. To be blunt, there has never been a better time to invest in an E-Commerce website to make sure your business is making the most of the opportunities the internet has to offer.

Sizzle Media have been designing stunning E-commerce sites for many years, and have helped develop some very successful projects, from start-ups to blue ship organisation. We pride ourselves in delivering a very high level of customer service that has helped Sizzle Media Web design Manchester achieve the RAR Top 100 Agency outside of London 2 years running

Our E-Commerce websites can be tailor made for you, or you can choose a simple start up package. Once you have your beautiful ecommerce website in place, we will give you full training so you will be able to easily update your products and pages, and if you want you can use our Manchester SEO service too and get to the top of the search results for your chosen keywords, and SEO is something we are also very good with results that we don’t just talk about, but can demonstrate, however that’s another topic altogether.

If and ECommerce website is what your business needs, then don’t hesitate to call Sizzle Media web design Manchester on 0161 820 8577, and we will happily come to visit you, have a brew and do business the old fashioned way J