DW Tips

Websites have become commonplace in business. Yet, a survey conducted by market research firm Clutch found that only 71 percent of small businesses have a website. If you are one of them, we're here to help. In the meantime, many myths have swirled around concerning website design. Here are 20 of them:

• You can save money by using a free site. The biggest downfall would be lack of customization.

• A lot of animation will make your website more interesting. Excessive animation can detract from the purpose of your marketing content.

• A graphic designer and web developer are the same. During website building, the designer furnishes and the developer builds.

• A website is defined mostly by its sense of aesthetics. Both visual display and engaging content are equally important.

• The more widgets, the better. Actually, too many widgets are useless if they lead people to the wrong sites or have outdated information.

• The homepage is the most important part of your site. Algorithms are now intelligent enough for people to do an SEO search for items that could in any section of your website. 

• Rankings in SEO are more important than conversions. SEO conversion is where people read your website and are therefore able to access your service, which is more important than having high ratings. 

• To make your ideal website, price should be your only priority. As with everything, price is only one factor. Other things to consider include availability, turn around time and business structure.

• You can count on responsive design functioning on every website. It's not true, because some browsers like Internet Explorer may not work.

• You can't save money by customizing your website. Though a template is cheaper, the right web design company can still design a website that will fit into your budget.

• An affordable web design company would not send you a "real programmer." The only way to get a website of any worth is through a designer, programmer and developer.

• You website must have responsive technology to be effective. People don't know if your website is responsive or separately tailored for mobile use. 

• A lot of tagging will help increase your ranking. Actually, the opposite is true. With updates in search engine algorithms, too much tagging can lower your rankings.

• All important content must be in the upper half of your screen.  Since websites appear on devices of varying sizes, that rule, previously common with print newspapers, doesn't apply here.

• It's not necessary to create a mobile site. The goal should be to reach everyone, not just those with a computer.

• You don't have to worry now about SEO. If you wait, chances are you'll lose both time and money.

• Internal links aren't important for SEO. They provide information on more websites that could help the reader.

• A service that promises to register your website can help your ratings. Website registration has nothing to do with ratings. 

• An IT team should create and manage SEO. Someone could only do that if they're familiar with your marketing strategy.

• Affordable web design = cheap web design. Cheap web design is where some fly-by-night programmer designs your site without your brand in mind.

For more information on website design, please contact us.