For design lovers

Whether your company is large or small, you must have a web presence that works for your business. Commanding a powerful presence on the World Wide Web has become a table stake. A company’s web design details and web presence has replaced a wide array of communication vehicles. Nowadays customers, suppliers, and even potential investors form a first impression from a company’s web presence.
And it’s not just the homepage – a good cover followed by unfriendly navigation, hard to decipher visuals, or simply too many graphic images will ruin a visit to a website.

Next, you have to be sure that the front end, “the market engine,” is tied tightly to all of your company’s back-office functions. Everything must work smoothly so that billing, customer care and relationship management, inventory, shipping, and even sales can use your web presence as an integrated business tool.

So in a nut shell, here is basically the steps to great web design when you tie it into SEO and SEM. Getting yourself a favorable listing in search engines is a matter of following these two steps when designing your website pages.

Step 1: Use your TITLE Tag Properly!

Most search engines place a lot of weight on the content of your TITLE tag. Your page’s title is very important and you should design it properly. Do not set the title of your page to something totally unrelated to your site. For example: “Welcome!” or “Thank You For Visiting!” simply will not do.

When surfing the net I often see plenty of pages where the title is “Untitled Document” or “Title Your Page Here” – the page owner hadn’t even specified a title at all. It’s unfortunate because those pages are missing out on potential search engine ranking.

Your TITLE tag should clearly represent what your site is about. If you’re building a page that talks about your company’s products, the title should thoroughly reflect that topic. “Our Products” or “Product Listings” is a bad choice for a page title – people are probably going to be searching for your company by name or by the type of product you sell. Thus, using our website as an example: “Vancouver Web Design, SEO Vancouver, BC Web Design”. What ever business you are in, make sure your title tag reflects exactly who you are and what you do.

Also consider using keywords in your TITLE tag. For example, let’s say you’re selling real estate. You might want to make the title of your main page “Seattle Real Estate, Real Estate Agency in Seattle, Listing Homes, Property and Commercial listing for the Seattle Area!” As you can see, this title gets right to the point about the topic of the page. It also uses your keyword: “Seattle Real Estate,” and more specifically “Real Estate Listings in Seattle” (twice). Someone searching for “Real Estate” is more likely to find YOUR page than a page titled “Homes For Sale.”

Step 2: Keywords aren’t just for META tags

Over the years, META tags have been hawked as “the” way to get good listings in the search engines. Early on, this was true – when META tags were first created in the HTML specifications, search engines put a lot of weight on them. Several years ago you could literally boost yourself to the top of the search results by including repetitive keywords in your META tags.

However, META tags have now become the most abused part of web pages. People routinely add META keywords to their page which have no relevance to their site’s topic. For example, many webmasters use META keywords like “pics” or “mp3″ even if their site has nothing to do with those categories. They’re hoping that people who search for hot topics will stumble across their page and stop by.

Those tactics do not work anymore. META tags now carry a surprisingly low weight in all of the popular search engines. What is important now is the overall content of your page. Search engines have algorithms (methods) for determining what your web pages are really about. These algorithms are closely-guarded secrets, for obvious reasons. However, they all focus on one thing these days: the REAL content in your web page. If you create a web page about “The CompanyABC Business Opportunity” but include META keywords like “free pics” and “download music,” your site’s not going to be indexed under the topics you defined in your keywords. In fact, it might be rejected altogether!

Not only should you make sure that your META keywords tag appropriately reflects the content of your page, you should ensure that the text content of your page contains a good distribution of your keywords. Mention your company name often (and evenly) throughout your site.

For Example: “Our Company is the best company around. Imagine working at home and being your own boss – Our Company makes it possible! Your potential for earnings with Our Company is unlimited. Our Company allows you to sell as much as you want or as little as you want. The amount of money you make with Our Company depends on how much effort you put into your Our Company business.” Using your company name strategically and through out your web page is going to get you much higher rankings when someone performs a search for Our Company.

As you can see, the keyword (Our Company) is evenly distributed. Don’t try bunching up your keywords at the end of the page, that doesn’t work and may prevent you from being listed at all. You should concentrate on using keywords as part of your site’s content, and spreading them evenly throughout your text.

As you can see, these two steps are pretty simple. It’s all a matter of incorporating them into the design of your web pages – or redesigning your pages to fit, if your site is already live and submitted. There is never any guarantees that your website will end up #1 in the search results, but I do guarantee that if you follow these two steps you’ll achieve better overall rankings.

Above all else, avoid common spammer tactics like grouping keywords at the bottom of your page, or trying to “hide” keywords by making the text the same color as your page’s background. Search engines look for these methods and will often disqualify your page if they encounter what they think is spam.

A girl tattoo design differs greatly from men’s designs. With women’s tattoo, you can’t just pick a design based solely on your personal preference. The first thing you have to look into is the tattoo meaning. A tattoo may look cool, cute or exquisite but you wouldn’t want to get stuck with a tattoo that isn’t significant to you. In worse cases, some people get stuck with tattoos that have negative meanings. Here are some designs that you might want to consider:

- Floral designs typically symbolize femininity. You should be careful though because different flowers may have different meanings. Roses for example can have a variety of significances ranging from love to infidelity depending on the flower color.

- Stars are also common designs for females. They can however also carry a variety of meanings. Nautical stars typically give off the message of purpose and direction or the love for the sea. Other star designs are simply reflective of childish fantasies or hopes and wishes.

- Tribal designs would look perfect on the lower back. A horizontal swirl of tribal designs can accentuate the sexy curves of a woman’s back. Be careful though. Some tribal designs are created by artists with no particular meaning. Others however are taken from real tribes like the Maori, Polynesian and Native American tribes. Your girl tattoo design may carry a particular tribal significance that you may not be aware of.

- There are also tattoo designs with more obvious meanings. Angels and crosses for example could communicate religious faith.

- Characters from foreign alphabets are quite popular. You can have a Japanese or Chinese character that stands for love, friendship, power and many more. It is very important though that you get artists who can really read these characters. You can also opt for translators who can help you with making the design. It is not uncommon for foreign characters to have a few missing parts here and there and end up meaning something else.

- Animal designs can also be for females. Sleek felines like a puma, cheetah or leopard would look great on women who want to exude strength and empowerment. Butterflies however are an absolute favorite due to their delicate features.

- Fantasy designs for women’s tattoo have also been around for ages. They seem to have become even more popular these days because of famous fantasy shows and movies. Typical fantasy designs are fairies and unicorns. Other designs however may carry a more powerful meaning. The phoenix for example almost always means rebirth and rising from the ashes again.

- You can also customize a design. Some artists would be more than willing to come up with designs that stem from your own personal experience. A personal code between you and a significant other and the face of your baby are some examples. This is the safest tattoo design option because you are sure of what it means. On the other hand, a tattoo artist may charge extra for the design. Making the design may also take some time.

A girl tattoo design would become more meaningful if you choose it yourself. It is important to remember though that you should know exactly why you would want a particular design. The significance of your tattoo matters a lot. It contributes to the impact of your tattoo.

When you are looking for the right zodiac tattoo designs, there are many different choices in front of you. You will want to think about what style you want them in, how you want the design depicted and how you will tie it together on your body. When you are looking for tattoo designs of zodiac sign, you’ll find that the first thing that you need to think about is the general design, so keep the following tips in mind.

The first thing that you need to think about is who or what you are trying to represent. For instance, if your mother is a Gemini, how can you make sure that the Gemini twins symbol is one that ties to her both in theme and in style? For instance, if she loves traditional art, you might find that an old Gemini tattoos would look great, while if she has a more spare design philosophy, you can choose the design of the Gemini tattoos that looks more like a single character or sigil.

When you are shopping around for zodiac tattoo designs, you’ll find that you can choose a number of different ways to go about it. First, you have the very plain but striking line work that represents the zodiac; the waves that represent Aquarius and the arrow that represents Sagittarius are two that spring to mind. You may find that you prefer to look at the constellations that the zodiac signs are drawn from, and choose to create a stellar array on your body. You may also choose to get a very cartoonish representation of the zodiac sign, like a cute lion for the Leo tattoo. It’s all about your preferences and what you are wanting the tattoo to represent. The scorpion tattoos are very popular for those born under this star sign,
and allow enough room for artistic flair.

If you are looking for zodiac tattoo designs, you may also take a look at zodiacs from different countries. For instance, while you might be an Aries in the Western zodiac, you might also be a sheep or a dog in the Chinese zodiac. The Eastern zodiac comes with all sorts of designs for the twelve animals that make it up, so you can choose to get a lovely zodiac animal tattooed on yourself, or a distinctive Chinese character.

When you are searching for zodiac tattoo designs, the important thing to remember is that you should not get the tattoo until you find a design that you enjoy. There are many different tattoo designs of zodiac sign out there, but make sure that you get the zodiac sign that will suit you the best. Take the time to look at plenty of great zodiac tattoo designs before you make your decision.

As a web designer your final work is very important when looking to secure potential leads. The work must provide viewers with the evidence needed to show the capability and unique artistry you possess. Above all, every aspect should speak quality.

A web design portfolio is a collection of work that is a representation of your development as a designer. Portfolios normally contain every piece of formal work you have completed and any other kinds of work that will give potential clients a good sense of the dealings and progress you have gained. Because your work will be looked at without you in attendance, you should dedicate your time perfecting it. Let your work speak for itself! It’s worth taking a moment to get into the mind of the person who may be your possible client.

It is assumed that potential clients hope to hire someone or a company with a web and design background; more than likely someone who is capable of doing the job they are hired to do. They are searching for a web designer who will compliment their business, be able to complete all projects, and who understands how to get it done.

When presenting a web design portfolio, be sure to place your best pieces upfront. Potential clients may not have enough time to look through majority of your designs, so don’t scare them away by placing your best work in the back.

Please note, not every company or individual will know what type of work they need done. Usage of your web design portfolio will help to educate them about offered services and how they may be beneficial to their company’s development.

Critical Tips for a Web Design Portfolio

• Verbalize how you benefit businesses
• List your services along with details
• Explain portfolio pieces
• Include any client testimonials
• Place your best work up front
• Be Professional!

When deciding to build a new website for your small business or company, there are many aspects that should be covered before its official launch to the World Wide Web. A well thought out and organized site can bring more business while a poorly crafted one has the potential to drive clients away.

CODANK Charlotte Web Design Company is here to provide small businesses and entrepreneurs with a few tips and suggestions that will help with the construction of a website. Please refer back to our first set of tips here.

CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company Tips for Web Design

Include a link back to the home page (on each page)
Just in case a visitor gets lost, he or she will more than likely want to start all the way over. Make it easy for them to do so by including a way to get back to the home page. It is best to include the text “home” because many people are not aware that clicking on a logo does the same thing.

Utilize white space
Do not clutter up your website by using too many images, backgrounds and colorful fonts. The best way to do this is by applying the ‘Keep It Simple’ principle. Minimize the use of graphics and actual use a lot more white space.

Place valuable information on each page
Style does not always matter when constructing a website. The purpose of all sites should be to provide visitors with something that is useful or interesting. A web designer should focus on this before moving on to anything else.

Place links in blue or underlined
A great way to help links stand out is to make them blue or underlined. Many websites choose to use both blue and underlined for their links.

Links in menus do not need to be blue nor underlined.

Include a ‘Last Modified’ date
If you frequently update your site, you should always include a last modified date at the top or bottom of the page. Doing so will let visitors know how current the information may be.

About CODANK Charlotte Web Design

CODANK is a top Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company located in Charlotte, NC. The company is dedicated to providing a broad range of web design services. CODANK specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Online Marketing, and Web Design and Development.

For more information, visit CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company at www.codank.com