As a business owner, you can’t afford to focus all your time and energy on web design: you’ve got to hustle to find customers, handle your accounting and manage all the different parts of your company. That doesn’t mean that you can get away with knowing absolutely nothing about web design, though.
In order to make sure that you get a website that will actually help your business to grow, you need to know at least a little about actually designing a website, as well as how to find the best possible web designer. After all, you wouldn’t buy a car without knowing how to drive it, how to change a tire and how to find a good mechanic.
What You Need to Know About Web Design
A lot of knowing the basics of web design is a matter of vocabulary, and understanding the definitions of the words on your list. Unfortunately, we can’t give you a list of words to memorize — there are differences between industries, as well as a wide variety of technology to deal with. However, there are a few starting points we can offer.
- Content management systems: In the past, a web designer was responsible for updating all the content on a site because coding was required. Now, however, there are tools, known as ‘content management systems,’ that will let you update your content. There are many options, though, so you’ll need to look into what you can work with.
- Search engine optimization: Because so much online traffic is directed by search engines, you need at least a passing familiarity with how to make your site more appealing to those same search engines.
- Ecommerce: If you plan on selling directly through your website, you’ll be facing a few technical concerns. By reading up on ecommerce solutions early on, you can help your web designer get a better idea of what you want.
What You Need to Know About Website Designers
A good web designer is always willing to discus the technology aspects of your website with you. Not only should your designer be able to come up with the right design and appearance for your site, but he should be ready to talk to you about the decisions that go into creating a reliable and useful website.
Staying Up to Date on Web Design
The next website you have created for your company isn’t likely to be the last site you ever need built. Most companies find it necessary to update their sites regularly, as well as may need specialized sites or pages for individual promotions or projects. That makes it worth your while to keep up to date on what’s going on in the world of web design.
Picking a few websites that you trust to tell you about web technologies is the simplest approach to educating yourself. All you have to do is make sure that you’re actually reading up on the topic, or having regular conversations with your web design company.
Image by Flickr user David Weinberger