Web Design Blog

Type in the phrase “web design” or “web site design” or one like unto it, in a search engine like google and you’ll find a multitude of so called web design businesses who will gladly build you a website for whatever money they can get out of you.

As I have been in the web design & development industry for some time now, I have noticed a wave of start-up web development companies that have grossly abused the phrases, “Top 1% of web design companies in the world!”, “Certified, trained professionals”, “Top Engineers”, “Quality Service”…

I am here to tell you that the majority of those companies claiming to be what their site portrays are misleading in the quality of service and product they provide, and sadly, they tend to overcharge their clients for web development that is some of the poorest in the industry…

My intension here is to show you the signs of a “bad egg” web development company compared to the good ones, deserving of your business and how to choose the company that will meet your needs & not charge you for things you’ll never need or use.

My credentials you might ask? Who am I? I started designing and programming web sites, web applications and web projects at the tender age of 14. I have since worked for numerous web development & design companies as a Design Lead, Manager, and coordinator, a programmer, and a manager of all web development departments. Eventually, out of complete frustration with those companies and their handling of good honest clients, I left the “rat race” and started my own web design & development company.

My approach to a web development company was shaped by the many shortcomings of each company I had worked for. From overcharging clients to misleading them with the popular, “Get a website starting at $199.00″ (which should read, “Starting at $199 and ending where your budget stretches the most”) I began to see that all these companies had one main problem. Retention… They got the customer in, but after a few weeks or months, the customer began to see that they were either being overcharged for something they never asked for or that the quality of the product promised was lacking and sometime missing altogether.

So how did I resolve this problem? I carefully started to build a company where the customer feels like they are sitting in a sofa, with lemonade when they call us. Where the customer comes out of our doors or phone conversation knowing more than they did before they rang. Where the customer knows exactly what they are getting, why they are getting it, and why it costs what it does. Where the customer has the same level of decision that the manager does on the other side of the phone… Isn’t the website that we are building your website? Why do so many companies force their customers into a battle of power over the control, design and development of the website? Shouldn’t you be able to touch the product you just paid for, or at least feel some sort of ownership to your website?

I have never felt so bad for a customer until I was in my third week working at a company in Utah who’s claim to be in the top 1% of the Nation may be true, but they make up for that one truth with plenty of other misleading statements, to name a few: “Certified Website Designers -Top of their Class, Experienced, Certified Graphic and Layout Designers!” What certifications? I never had one… Neither did any of my co-workers, in fact, most of us had just come in from high-school as either a drop-out or we just needed a job and we took a trainer course in photoshop or dreamweaver over the weekend to pass the design or HTML test they gave us… Certified? No. Experienced? Sure, if you count the many bad designs performed on clients websites while working there?

Without further delay, and without going into specific details of many companies I have worked for or am very aware of their practices, here are a few red flags to watch for while choosing a web development & design company.

1. Buy a site for $199.00
Why is this number one? We too, offer sites for $195.00… Take notice when you call the company offering this steal of a deal, how many details they either choose to tell you or try to avoid… Yes, a website of that price can be very nice and is very doable… If a company explains to you all the basic details of that particular package, then you usually will come out ok. But, keep in mind that with bigger companies that are really big, a $199.00 site will be treated as a quick site… thus you will get some designer in the far corner throwing and piecing together your site. You might as well have paid $500.00 for a good design. With Everest Web, you only get the best. Take a look at our portfolio. You will see many sites that we have designed for $195.00… We look at our clients with equality. Your $195.00 site will look as good as the $1100 site, because we only do good work! The extra costs come when you begin to ad “enhancements” to your site. (i.e.. photo galleries, shopping cars, flash, payment forms, etc.)

2. Sales Pitch vs. What is the purpose of your website?
Most web design companies will give you a hard sales pitch when you call in. This shows you as a customer that they want your money and probably won’t care much about the success / failure of your business. So, pay attention to the questions they ask you and the interest they show in your business or ideas… We at everest not only care about your business, we enjoy spreading the word about your business by SEO enabling your site and putting it on multiple indexing sites to help you get more customers and visits.

3. Promising the moon
Beware of those companies who will do amazing things with a website at a fraction of the cost. This usually means that they are in a garage with a telephone waiting for the next chance to go learn the skill they need to build that customer who just paid them hundreds or thousands of dollars.

4. Sincerity
If you call a company and you feel confused within a few minutes of the conversation, then they either are trying to confuse you to have you just let them take care of it, or they don’t care that you understand what you are about to pay for.

5. Certified Designers, Programmers, etc.
In every company I have worked for, not one of my co-workers or managers at that have ever been certified as a designer or programmer. The company might give them a certificate stating that they passed a test in some program. The best way to tell if a company really walks their talk is to view their portfolio… Not just once. But come back a few times to see if they constantly update it, or if they just keep the once in a blue moon best designs up so you never see the bad ones…

With those things in mind… come back and read my next blog about one of my experiences with one of todays fastest growing web design companies in the US. Why are they the fastest? I find it funny that they brag about this all over their website, when all it says to me is that they are the fastest to spend money buying their customers from google.com’s adwords campaigns. Oh yes, we could easily climb up to be the fastest growing company in the us, but that sure doesn’t help you as a customer… Fast growth equals more quotas to meet, less time for quality work, more time for quick work…

Custom built, small business, personalized web site.

Infieldpass.com is the place for your race track infield camping needs. There are so many people that love our sport and want to be in the infield but there are so many people and not enough tracks to make us all happy, this is where we come in.

We as infield track campers pay to go to the same track every year (some for the past 20 or so years) and for some you are ready for a new experience or just want to visit a new track but you don’t want to lose your infield spot at your track but can’t afford to buy a spot at every track and at some tracks you don’t have the option because of a waiting list to get in the infield.
Everst web design creates custom built cutting edge website designs for any business size. We provide reliable, fast, and affordable web hosting along with an amazing friendly tech support team. Whether you are a small business or you just have something to share, Everest web beats them all!

Just what are “organic” clicks? These are the clicks that come to you direct from searches in the search engines. In other words, in the end you’ve paid nothing for them.

Organic would be the ideal way to get people to your website. It’s like google. How many of you have to go to another website to think of going to google. You don’t. You just type in google and it is there. Purely organic. Wouldn’t it be nice to have people just google your website? Just remember what it is and use it as the main source of whatever your website is offering? That is what organic is all about.

Here are some tips to get your site organically up on search engines.
- Add a Blog
- Make sure your keywords and description are relevant to your sites content
- Link, Link , Link and exchange links with other websites

Choosing the Perfect Domain Name

A domain name is what people type in the internet browser bar to reach your website.  If you choose poorly it could cost you money.  With over 60 million American online each day you want them to be able to get to you site.  A good domain name makes this easy.  Most people just assume that if they type in www.walmart.com, then it will take them to WalMart’s website, and of course, WalMart has made sure that it does.  Most large businesses see that their domain name matches their business description.  Here are a few things to consider when choosing your domain name.

1. Make your domain name your business name, provided it is available.  This might seem obvious, but customers will assume that they can reach you by typing your business name into the web browser.  If your business name is Mountain Valley Dental, then registar your domain name as www.mountainvalleydental.com.   Remember, the easier it is for customers to find you on the web, the more your site is viewed.

2.  Keep it simple.  This gets difficult with so many websites available, most of the good names seem to be taken.  Larger companies have paid big money to purchase their domain name, you must decide if it is worth it to you.  Generally, small businesses do just fine if they pick a simple, descriptive domain name.  Choose something that relates to your business and is easy to spell or reproduce in the internet browser.  Avoid using characters other than letters or numbers.  This complicates people getting to your site.  When you tell a person what your website is try to make it something they can remember without worrying about hyphens, dashes, or underscores.  The simpler, the better.  You will have to be creative since so many domain names have already been taken. If you have an overly long business name, purchase it, then consider purchasing a shorter, maybe abbreaviated alternative, as people do not like to type in long domain names. For example, www.mysampledomainnameisthisrighthere.com is a little long and tedious to type into a browser, so I purchase it anyways, and then I purchase an additional domain name using for example just the first letter of each word, www.msdnitrh.com…

4.  Registar domain names that are similar to yours.  Average domain names cost under $10.00, it might be worth it to purchas a few options.  Think of what else your audience might type in and purchase that domain name as well. 

5.  Do not let it expire.  Make sure you are on top of your yearly renewal.  If it expires then someone else can purchase it and customers who are accustomed to visiting your website will lose trust in it if it goes down. 

6.  Use it as much as possible.  If you advertise make sure that it can easily be seen and is mentioned often.  Put it on your business cards, if you have an office, post it on your door, you get the idea.

Buying a good domain name will help you attract customers to your site.  So remember, describe your business, keep it simple, purchase similar domain names, use it, and DO NOT let it expire.  Have fun and be creative!

There are those of you out there  wondering why you need a website.  Well I will tell you, the internet is the fastest growing media ever.  Those who are ignorant of its power are left at a disadvantage.  The internet is  for everyone, and having a website is for every business.
It may even seem unprofessional to your clients if your business does not have a website.  The other main reason is that, it is a VERY minimal investment that yields LARGE returns.  You pay an upfront fee to have your site built, and a monthly hosting fee and then information about your company is available to millions.

It is effective low cost marketing.  So to those of you who are wondering, “Is it really worth all the hassle?”, I say yes!   Just try it, and I promise you will not be able to imagine life before your company was on the web.

Every website on the internet is hosted by someone on a server, a computer which is connected to the internet backbone.  This server stores the information for each website it hosts.  Without a web hosting service your site is not available to users on the internet.  There are many web hosting services available to you.  You want to make sure you choose a reliable one and one that will meet the needs of your growing business.
At Everest Web we offer a variety of web hosting options.  When you choose us for your web hosting service you avoid unnecessary fees just to update your site, change a picture or call your host provider.  Free updates, free support, reliable service and discounts are what you deserve from your hosting company!  If you are looking for an affordable, reliable, web hosting with great customer service you are looking for Everest Web Design.

So…you have decided you need a website.  You next decision is what type.  There are so many to choose from, so many features avaible.  How do you decide what fits your needs.  First, consider who is your audience?  Then, decide once you get them to your website, what do you want them to be able to do?  Finally, what features do you need available to make it all come together. 

Here are some things to consider:

* Is your site designed to conduct business or is it for personal use?  If it is going to be used for business you will probably need to consider several additional features besides a basic design.  A personal website, like a family or hobby site might be more simple.

*If you are a business website, do you need to sell a product, will you need a gallery to show  products you have avaible, are you going to be taking credit card payments online, will you want to be able to update it yourself (Add products, insert pictures, change prices, update catalog, check orders, and verify payments.), will you need a SSL certificate, etc…

With Everest Web Design we offer the custom website design you are looking for at an affordable price.  You website can be as simple or as complex as your needs are.  So whatever your needs are we have a custom website waiting to be designed to meet them!

  Search Engine Optimization is the process of buying traffic (or visitors) to your website.  You might be considering if this is something that might be worth your investment.  It is like investing money in advertising.  Search Engine Optimization pricing varies greatly depending on the package you purchase.   Some options might include:  pay per click, pay per ranking, a one time fee, a monthly fee, revenue sharing. If you are looking into purchasing such a package Google gives this counsel:

 1.  Be leary of companies who send you emails out of the blue, as you would junk mail that comes to you unsolicited

2.  No one can guarantee #1 ranking on Google.  Google does not form special alliances with SEO companies.  In fact you can registar your URL with google yourself.  Just visit http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl.

3.  Be careful of a company who will not explain what they are going to do.  If such a SEO company creates false information about your site, you are held liable and this could get you kicked off google’s index entirely.

4.  Never Link to a SEO.  This is typically uneffective and not worth your time.

5.  Some SEO companies will attempt to get you to purchase the ability to type keywords right into the web browser.  With this you would most likely be expected to install extra software. 

6.  Do your research!  Do not go with the first company that comes along. 

7.  Make sure you know what your money is being used for. 

8.  Look into the legalities, are you protected legally?  Do not be afraid to ask for your money back if you are unsatisfied with the results.  This is just another reason why you should know where you money is going.

Here are the warning signs Google gives that you might be dealing with a fraudulant company:

• owns shadow domains
• puts links to their other clients on doorway pages
• offers to sell keywords in the address bar
• doesn’t distinguish between actual search results and ads that appear in search results
• guarantees ranking, but only on obscure, long keyword phrases you would get anyway
• operates with multiple aliases or falsified WHOIS info
• gets traffic from “fake” search engines, spyware, or scumware
• has had domains removed from Google’s index or is not itself listed in Google

So my advice when considering SEO is buyer beware and do your research carefully.  Good luck! 

Most people thinking about getting a website for their business have one primary question:  Do I purchase a template I like and then customize it, or do I get a custom build website? Are custom built websites more expensive than templates?

There are several things one must consider when making this decision.

• Uniqueness - Templates are made for everyone.  Consequently, they are used by everyone.  Imagine your customer’s surprise when they see a nearly exact copy of your website for another company.  With a custom design, uniqueness is ensured.
• Time is Money - If you purchase a template (average cost is around $39.00 to $129.00 depending on the type of template), you will spend hours (provided you know anything about web design) customizing it to your needs, or you will spend hundreds to thousands of dollars, having someone customize it for you.  If you don’t know programming and you don’t want to pay someone to program it for you, it will take considerably longer.  The average cost of a quality custom web design is around $195.00 to $500.00 - more or less, depending on your individual needs. 
  
  
  A custom website design comes with many benifits including:
  • A site built to reflect your business and needs
  • Graphics that match your business
  • Custom logo
  • A personalized feel to the site
  • A non-generic look and feel that most templates seem to carry, endless possibilities, as it is built from scratch.
• Avoid The Hassle - Look for web design solutions that offer bundled design packages - design, hosting, registration, ecommerce, etc.,  To get all these services for your own website can be very confusing and tedious. Everest Web Design takes care of them for you. We love to reward our clients for choosing us. You’ll never pay more, you’ll get the best design for your company, and you are not a number to us…

In summary, templates are great if you have design and web programming experience, unlimited time, and endless patience, but if not, give Everest Web Design a try, 100% satisfaction guaranteed!

Button rollovers are a must when it comes to navigating a professional website. Navigating through websites can be hard when you are unsure of what page you are currently on, button rollovers show visitors to your site, what category they are in, or what page they are currently visitng. It also gives your site a feeling of, “this is a professional website”.

Some examples of button rollovers: (move your mouse over the menus)
http://www.utahdecor.com (rollovers non-animated)
http://www.walkfasttalkloudandsmile.com (rollovers non-animated)
http://www.mortgagesaver101.com (Animated rollover buttons)

“Rollover refers to a button as created by a web developer or web designer, found within a web page, used to provide interactivity between the user and the page itself. The term rollover in this regard originates from the visual process of “rolling the mouse cursor over the button” causing the button to react (usually visually, by replacing the button’s source image with another image), and sometimes resulting in a change in the web page itself.

Rollovers can be done by imagery, text or buttons. The user only requires 2 images/buttons (with the possible addition of “alt” text to these images) to perform this interactive action. Rollover imagery can be done either by a program with a built-in tool or script coding. The user will have to pick a first image and select an alternate secondary image. A mouse action will have to be set to either “click on” or “mouse over” in order for the rollover to be triggered. Note that when the “mouse over” moves on the image, the alt image/secondary image will appear but won’t stay - when the user “mouses out” by moving the mouse away from the image, the original source image will reappear.” - Wikipedia