What sets one website apart from another? What makes it unique and stand out to a visitor? What makes one website authentic and another “stock”? There are a variety of answers to those questions, but one of the most important is that the website be unique and authentic.
Web designers typically design a website by using colors, graphics and styles that coordinate with an established business logo. The home page of a website is typically designed to include the following basic items:
- Header or Mast Head – Include logo, slogan, telephone or address.
- Navigational Menu
- Welcome Text
- News posting
- Footer: Contains privacy policy, related links, this & that
But what truly sets a website apart is capturing the essence of the business it’s self and designing a website that is authentic. How is that accomplished? One of the first items that is key to every business website is the use of photos taken at the business and of the business team, owners, staff or production facility. Many business owners are shy or feel their business or office is not a viable place for great photography. One of the best ways to create authenticity is to stay away from using stock photography images! Consider have professional photos taken by your web design team. At the very least photos taken by someone who has a design sense.
There are still a lot of skeptic customers and cautious web visitors. Using too much stock photography can make a website seem ordinary or ‘fake’. You never want to misrepresent yourself or your business by using stock photos. Particularly for the actual product or service you represent.
A few good examples of “authentic” web design using quality photography are GreenEffex.com, ALocksmithNaples.com , BonitaBR.com and F1Imports.com
These are just a few examples of websites that include photography directed by RGB Team Web, edited and implemented to provide potential customers a visual connection with the owner or company. We also combined them with original graphics to further establish uniqueness.
It is assumed that by having the title of web designer that the individual or company are experienced graphic designers or that they have a background in design or in a creative field of multimedia. This is not always the case. Many “Web Designers” are either self trained or are dubbed with the the title web designer, but have no training in the field of design. This become obvious when you look at web designer or web design company portfolios.
Ever look at a web design portfolio and all the designs look the same? That is typically an indication that the “Web Designer” has no background in design or they were unwilling to produce a truly unique representation of your business. Some tips when you are interviewing a company for Web Design. Ask the following questions;
- Does anyone at the web design firm actually have a degree or experience in design?
- How much of your website will be customized to you?
- Does anyone in the web design firm have experience in multimedia, such as photography, video or animation?
Before you get stuck with an ordinary website be sure to really check out the web designers body of work… And not just the home page of websites. Look at a few of their projects and go through the website to see if the web designer did a good and through job on All the content pages. It can make a big difference to your visitor conversions!
