Gone are the days where you can slap up a website that only contains text and be able to actively engage your audience. As the internet ages, web users are becoming more savvy and sophisticated. They want and expect to see websites that are more akin to television. This is why websites such as YouTube and other video sharing websites have become so popular. People are used to going to movies and watching television and they expect that level of engagement and entertainment online. While you have some people who love to read and enjoy spending time reading about various topics that are interesting to them, many people do not. Some people don’t like to read. They only want to read what is absolutely necessary and would prefer communication that is a little more interactive. This is why it is becoming more important then ever for companies to use videos, pictures and images.

Videos can be created very easily. Power Point, video cameras and/or a camera phone are the primary tools that you will need to create a video. Video editing and conversion tools will also be necessary. If you have a very high end product, it would appropriate to spend a little more money to create a high quality video because your target market will expect it.

If you do not have money in your budget to create videos, you may want to embed some from some of the popular video sharing websites such as YouTube. You can find lots of videos on many different topics. Look for videos that are relevant to the products that you are promoting. As long as the videos are not advertising another product or service, you should be fine.

You also want to be sure to add images and pictures to your website as well. These help to break up the text and create visual interest in your website, which encourages individuals to stick around. When you combine video, images and pictures, you are able to create a very interesting and fun website that is able to capture and hold your visitor’s attention.

There are many great places to find images online. You can purchase them, depending on your budget, you can spend a lot of money or go bargain basement. There are also free pictures available that you can use as well. A quick search online will also provide you with free images that are available. When you are looking for pictures and images, this probably goes without saying, but you do need to make sure that they are relevant to your website. If you can’t find anything that fits your niche perfectly, use pictures of people that best match the emotionality of your website. If your website is about Mesothelioma, you may want to use pictures of sad and somber people. If your website is about how to market online, consider using pictures of people looking happy or excited.

Using images, videos and pictures is becoming more and more important as internet users spend more time online. They expect to find web pages that are captivating and interesting. Adding pictures, videos and images allows you to create a website that matches their expectations.

Valik Rudd is a web developer and marketer. He lives in Spokane, WA and spends his time building websites and teaching others, writing his web design blog, how to design good websites. His latest articles on this topic is available at http://www.webdesignideas.org.

Author: Valik Rudd
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Digital Camera Information

Believe it or not but your company logo can make a big to difference to the level of traffic you will receive to your website. It’s true. As the first thing visitors see when they visit your site, all their first impressions about who you are and what you do will simply be based on the way your logo is designed.

And the reason? It is all about design, design, design. Offer them a boring logo, that is dull, unoriginal and patchy in quality and they will click away straight away.

But offer them something that is memorable, eye-catching and professional; a logo that is graphically entertaining and visually impacting, and you will instantly pop into their mind when they think back.

Now before you start comparing logos and trying to work out what elements they have used to make their website more popular than yours, there is something you need to know.

The real key to developing a successful logo is simply down to branding. And all branding essentially is, is ‘predefining what a company is all about in the mind of its clients’ or in simpler terms, what surfers expect to see when they visit your website.

It is all about making the right impressions – so how do you do it? How can you get the right message across? More importantly – how can you clearly demonstrate all the positive attributes of your company through a simple logo?

Well the first step is being able to project your company and its services positively.

Take this scenario for example. You want to get your mother the perfect Mother’s day card, one that will truly show her how much you appreciate her – where is the first place you think of to find this card? Go on, take a moment and think… for most of us, it’s a toss up between Clinton’s and Hallmark.

But ask yourself this – why did they spring to mind? Is it the quality of their cards? Yes, partly, but if you are honest, it is their company logo that first comes to mind. Their graphics, tag line and attractive images – the whole package.

Now before you get worried and start wondering how you too can create the perfect logo, here are 7 tips to help get you started which we guarantee will make a real difference to how effective your logo is.

Imagery: it is important to incorporate a strong, balanced image. Not one that is overcrowded with multiple images, but contains only one distinct image that clearly stands out.

Design: it needs to be eye-catching and memorable, but easy to look at too. One sure way to do this is to keep your design distinctive and bold.

Graphics: although it can be tempting to use any type of graphic to draw your surfer in, it is important that you use one that is appropriate to your business. There needs to be a direct link that will enable them to make the connection of what your company actually does.

Company Name: now we are not telling you to rename your company. Our point here is that your logo needs to work well with your company name. For example you wouldn’t put a picture of a cute dog on a property letting website. The dog will make people go ‘ahhhh’, but will it spike their interest in your company – no.

Font: depending on the font will depend on what situation it will work best in. Take this font for example Tempus Sans ITC, it is a beautiful font. But just because it is beautiful to look at, does not mean it will work well in representing your company.

The main thing to remember here is that your logo needs to be readable. Surfer’s need to be able to read your company’s name clearly, so that they can go away and still remember it.

Plus a complicated font, could cause them to spell your company name wrong.

Communication: similar to our graphic and company name comment, the way you choose to design your logo, will be the way your surfer goes on to interpret and judge your web site. That is why it is important that you make sure that your logo clearly communicates what your company is, and what you do. Keep it related.

Colour: the common mistake many online marketers make is believing you can only make eye-catching logos using colour. Now vibrancy doesn’t have to be limited to this category. You can still create a powerful logo using just black and white.

In fact you may find that your logo looks better in black and white, than in colour. You need to experiment and see what works.

So take your favourite company logo, and see how many of the above points their logo matches up to. You’ll find that they will match up to more than one of them, but most.

Isabelle Newton is working as a professional copywriter in the field of web design and digital marketing and has been working for a digital design agency in the east midlands for the past 8 years. To find out more please visit Soula Digital Design.

Author: Isabelle Newton
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Digital Camera News

Ease of Use

When designing a website for eCommerce, there are several principals to keep in mind. The first is usability. Your customers are not going to buy anything if they cannot quickly figure out how to navigate your site. Ease of use is often more important than creativity. Terrific graphics may make your site look pretty. But they will not increase your profit margin if the customer is unable to determine the price of your product.

Consistency

Online customers expect each page of your site to be similar. A cohesive look and navigation will help them find their way to the products they want and move along to the checkout.

Trust

The customer wants to know who you are, and why your company is more trustworthy than the competitor. Do you guarantee your product? Is it easy to return? How do you protect the identity of your customer and protect him from identity theft? And will you sell his email address? All of these policies and precautions need to be addressed on your eCommerce website. And they need to be easy to find. A photograph of you and your team can also help to create credibility.

Delivery Should Not Be A Mystery

ECommerce necessitates delivery. Since your customer is going to make a purchase by selecting photographs of goods and putting them into a virtual cart, shipping costs will be involved and should be available for review prior to checkout. It is to your benefit to offer multiple delivery options.

Know Your Audience

Just like in traditional sales, knowing your audience is important to closing the eCommerce sale. Knowing who your customer is, and when he or she makes a purchase will allow you to develop good site content. If you do not have a current web site design that is collecting this data for you, you can analyze any transaction records that your company has.

Optimize Your Keywords

In eCommerce website design, focus is what drives people to your site. Provide clear, concise text around your products, beginning with those that are in greatest demand. Build this part of your site, and traffic to it before you expand into less profitable areas. Learn what keywords bring internet shoppers to you and continue to create content rich with those words.

Building an eCommerce website does not require you to change what you know about doing business. You still need to know who your customer is, what he wants, and deliver it quickly and reliably. You are just doing that online.

Read more about the principals of eCommerce web design from Groove Commerce, an eCommerce & lead generation design and marketing firm. Visit them on the web at http://www.groovecommerce.com

Author: Ryan Wentworth
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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