Features of a website

Creating a website is a complicated process, Here at designs-on-a-website we put quality and performance first by selecting the best solutions for your website.- here are some of the things we have to do:

• Planning, strategy and information architecture
• Graphic design, Flash plug-ins
• Product design
• Copy writing
• HTML, CSS and JavaScript coding
• Forms and Tables
• Content Management Systems (CMS)
• Server-side programming and database development
• W3C Standards
• Web pages and browsers

Here at designs-on-a-website we put quality and performance first by selecting the best solutions for your website. Below are description's of those features to be found in any designsonawebsite.co.uk designed and built website:

 

Accessibility

Your website needs to be accessible to all your potential customers. We will build your site so that it is user friendly and so that it is compatible with the all the major internet providers software (eg. Internet explorer, ). We will also build your site in compliance with W3C’s Web Accessibility Initiative which aims to ensure that people with disabilities can use the Web.

 

Manage Your Content

If you are going to get the most out of your website, you need to be able to update your website quickly and easily. Designs on a Website can help you with that in one of two ways:

• We can make the amendments for you, under a Service Contract.
• We can provide you with a small piece of software, a content management system, which will allow you to update your website yourself.

Some examples of when you might want to update your website:

• When you want to change your prices
• When you want to change the products you offer.
• If you want to advertise a special offer.
• If you’d like to give a season specific message.
• If you’d like to maintain a ‘News’ section or a blog.
• If you want to change contact information.
• If you spot a spelling mistake.

 

Copy writing

Designs on a website can help you write the content of your website so that it is an effective advertisement.

 

Consistent Styling

One of the best ways to ensure a professional look to your website is to have the same style on each page. So for example, on this website, all the headings are the same colour, they have the same font and are the same size. We use CSS, Cascading Style Sheets, to define the style you want across as many of your web pages as you require.

 

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

The World Wide Web Consortium, W3C, is an international body aiming to encourage the development of the Web to its full potential. To this end, it encourages the development of software in a manner that can be compatible with other web software. It has produced standards for specifications, guidelines, software and tools. Designs on a Website validate all of our website builds to these standards.

 

Database Development

You may want a database developed to store information. This can be attached to your website to enable a dynamic interaction. For example, you may wish to have user names and passwords so that you can store information about your clients, such as delivery addresses. When your customer makes an order, the delivery details can be pulled from the database for your customer to verify.

Designs on a Website can work with you to design and build a database. We use MySQL, structured query language, and  PHP, both of which are mainstream developer tools.

 

Web Development

Designs on a Website uses Dreamweaver by Adobe to develop web sites. Dreamweaver is one of the most popular tools for web development amongst professional web developers. It supports the latest developments in Web technology, it has advanced scripting and authoring tools and integrates with other Adobe development tools, such as Flash.

 

Dreamweaver by Adobe

Dreamweaver is probably the most popular Web editor among professionals for a number of reasons. It supports the latest Web developments in Web technologies, advanced scripting and authoring, and integration with other Adobe development tools.Here at designsonawebsite we use the Adobe Dreamweaver application to produce and provide you with your Web site pages.

 

Flash Plug-Ins

Flash plug-ins are used on thousands of websites. Flash is commonly used to create animation, advertisements, and various web page components, to integrate video into web pages, and more recently, to develop rich Internet applications. Flash is another Adobe product that Designs on a Website can use to give your website a professional edge.

 

Flash by Adobe

The most popular multimedia plug-in by Adobe. Flash sites are much more dynamic than ordinary HTML ones. Text and images slide smoothly in and out of view, creating a far more engaging experience for the visitor.

 

Forms

Online forms are very similar to the type of printed forms that people fill out and post. On a web page you fill in the blank boxes and click on a submit button. There are several different types of fields a form can present to the customer, text boxes (your name), check boxes, select boxes, text areas and radio buttons. When you push the button the information is send over to the server, and a server side program takes over. On the server side the data is validated and saved and stored if validation is successful or error messages are sent back to the customers computer for correction.

 

Forms

It is possible to build forms into websites to capture information, in the same way that a paper form can be given to a customer to complete. Designs on a Website can help you define the type of form you want and the data you need to capture and can build the form for you.

The form will be made up of a number of different fields, with at least one field for each piece of information you require. There are several different types of fields that can be used in the form including:

• Text boxes – which are free for the customer to type in specific information, such as their name.
• Check boxes – which a customer clicks on to select something.
• Radio buttons – which are used when there has to be one or another option eg. First or second class post.
• Text areas – which are free for customers to type in sentences or paragraphs, such as where to put an item if they are out when it is delivered.

 

Each form will have a Submit button. When that button is pressed the information that has been typed into the form will be transferred to the server that hosts the website ie. It has been captured by your website. A program on the server will validate the information and if validation is successful, will store the information. If validation is unsuccessful, an error message is sent back to the customer’s computer for correction.

 

Web Site Hosting

All web sites have to be held on a computer server that is open to the internet 24/7.  This is called hosting. The computer server allows ‘server side’ programs to run against the website to do such things as capturing and storing the data entered on online forms or to monitor the amount of activity on the website.

As part of the website development package, designs on a website arranges for your website to be hosted on one of the main hosting servers for the first year. Hosting servers charge an annual fee, currently ranging between $5 and £10 per month

 

Graphic Design

Designs on a website uses Adobe Fireworks to design and build the graphics for your website.

 

Information Architecture

This is the structure that the information on your website takes. Having a structure to your information is important as it enables your customers to find the information they want and allows you to ensure that they see the information that you want them to see. For example, if you want every visitor to your website to see your special offers, you might choose to run a banner across the top of each page highlighting the special offers. Alternatively, if a customer signs on to find out your opening hours, you want that customer to find that information easily, without having to read every word on every page.

Designs on a website will help you build your website so that it can be used intuitively by your customers.

 

Javascript's

The most common use of Javascript is to launch those annoying pop-up adverts you see all over the place. however you can also use it to create drop down menus, warn people when they've missed their email address off a form or calculate mortgage payments for the next 25 years.

 

Pick Lists

Designs on a Website uses Javascript to build pick lists (drop down menus), to produce error messages, such as warnings that email address has been missed off a form, or to perform calculations such as mortgage payments for the next 25 years.

 

Planning

Before work starts on your website, it needs to be planned thoroughly. Make sure you set a clear goal for your site and then use your knowledge of your target audience to work out how you are going to achieve it. Create a site plan, identify a clean look and create a list of items.

If this sounds daunting, designs on a website is here to help.

 

Product Design

Your website is a product that you have invested in for a reason. Our product designers will ensure that the website is easy to use and targets your overall goal.

 

Finding Your Website

There are two ways for customers to find your website. If they know your website address they can key it directly into their browser. If they don’t know your website address they will use a search engine such as google or yahoo or ask Jeeves. One of the tricks to a successful website is making sure that the search engines will find your website.  Designs on a Website builds all websites so that they are compatible with search engines and will help you define the parameters that will optimise any searches. For example, if you are a butcher, you may want people to find you if they search for ‘butcher’ or ‘meat’ or ‘chicken’ or ‘pork’ or ‘beef’ or ‘sausages’ or ‘BBQ’ etc. even if you haven’t used those specific words in your website. However, you might have mentioned on your home page that you business was established in 1982, but you don’t need that in search optimisation because most people searching on ‘1982’ won’t be looking for a butchers.

 

Server Side Programming

These are the programs that run on the host server to perform actions on your website. Designs on a Website uses PHP scripting language to create these programs for you

 

Tables

Tables can be used to present complex information in a simple format. They are especially useful for numerical information. Designs on a Website can build tables on your website to display your information. Examples might be information that changes by month, or by weight or by volume or financial data.

Mixing tables and charts is a strong way of presenting your key messages.

 

XHTML

Designs on a Website writes web pages in XHTML, within Adobe Dreamweaver.

 

Web Pages and Browsers

To look at a web page, you sign onto the internet using a web browser that has been installed on the computer you are using. There are number of different web browsers, such as Internet Explorer, Safari, …. And you cannot control the browser that your customer will be using to view your site.

The browser controls the toolbars, menus, status bars etc. The web page controls the content in the browser window. This content has come from your host server.

Designs on a Website builds your website to be compatible with all the major web browsers so that whatever browser your customer uses they will see your website the way you want it to be seen.

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