Whilst the web offers massive sales opportunities, it takes specialist knowledge and constant research and web design intervention to actually secure orders online. Getting traffic to your web site is important. Search engine optimisation to improve your web site’s organic ranking on search engines and pay per click will get you traffic. But traffic alone will not fetch you sales. You could literally have hundreds of visits to your web site and end up with no leads at the end of the day. If you are paying for your clicks, it could be a big waste of money.

The average web surfer i.e. your potential web design customers spends about 10 seconds on your web site. That is a very short time but it is the only window of opportunity you might have to sell your web design services and products to that potential customer. Putting together the web design solution that will work and deliver this tall order is the key to a successful web design business or any business for that matter.

You cannot beat marketing research in planning any selling tools and you do not have to be a marketing guru to start thinking marketing. Start by deciding which segment of the web design market you want to target. Is it the discount low cost segment or are you more into the corporate web design sector? Selling discount web design through a corporate sophisticated web site might put the potential low budget customers off. Conversely, corporate customers looking for an expensive, high end and sophisticated web design would expect their supplier to have a corporate web site.

Once you have established which segment of the web design market you are serving and decided on the ‘discount’ or corporate look, start looking at the web design elements and where these fit on your homepage. A good starting point to putting together an effective web page that works is research on the behaviour of web surfers. Try typing ‘heat map’ into Google and look for ‘Where should I place Google ads on my page?’ The web site offers some indication of the ‘hot spots’ on a web page i.e. the areas where web visitors are most likely to spend time looking. Use this as a first step in putting together your web design. Try placing your key product offers and contact details in the hottest spots of the heat map – showed as bright orange on the heat map.

Once our web site is online, no amount of reading can beat a good testing procedure for your web design. Get your web site online and start analysing what’s happening. Look at your basic stats like number of visits. Then start looking a bit deeper into your stats using some analytic tools to check the effectiveness of your web design. Google offers some free analytics tools that allow you to easily find out which links visitors are or are not clicking on your web page.

Look at important links that are key to generating leads, like your ‘request a quote button’. If these important links are being ignored, start tweaking the web design look and feel to make them more prominent and visible of on your web site. Use position (remember the heat map), bright colours and catchy words to draw the attention of your potential web design customers.

When it comes to the look and feel of your web design solution, remember that looking pretty is not enough. The web site must respond to key marketing issues like your market segment and web surfer behaviour. The next time you visit a web page, try and see if the look and feel achieves the objectives of the web site.

An internship would be fine too, but I don’t know how to get into one of those either.

http://www.hereiamlive.com/DL/Downloads/.

Making your first web design is easy, it is creating something well that can become difficult. You would have a hard time using just one of the aforementioned programs to design a good website. The images for the new web design would have to be altered and buttons would have to be created. Now an imaging software solution must be considered. The most obvious imaging solution for web design would be to PhotoShop; but again even on Ebay the product is sold for two or three hundred dollars. There is an open source alternative to this program as well, the Gimp Shop. This software will be more than enough for all the web design needs for the beginner and advanced web designers. The Gimp can be downloaded from the above link as well. For a more simple imaging solution you might take a look at Macromedia’s fireworks. I find it be the most effective when making buttons or overlaying text onto buttons for my web design. This software is anywhere from sixty to one hundred dollars on Ebay.

Now that you have the tools to start your new web design it’s time to learn how they work. The learning curve on the products I have suggested are the best out there, but that does not mean you will be able to sit down without any training and bust out a quality web design in a day. You will need some help. I suggest you visit our Hereiamlive Web Design Help Forum http://www.hereiamlive.com/forum/index.php

The Hereiamlive Web Design Help Forum has many articles on web design and the development of websites. The site hosts a variety of free training videos, and a questions and answers section where you can have your web design questions answered by a professional for free.

Your are now armed with the tools and knowledge to create a professional web design. Your main challenge is to create a good web design is learning the more complex workings of your imaging software. After you master the image layering and some of the available specials effects your web designs will look vastly improved. Once you accomplish making a few professional web designs I would recommend learning Macromedia Flash to spice up your websites. Remember when using Flash you do not want to use too much as the search engines have a hard time picking up the Flash code. You always want to have a search engine friendly web design so sometimes less is more.

Well, hope this article helps with your web design needs.

Good Luck, and may all your first web design be a great one!

By: Corey Turcotte

www.hereiamlive.com

Lucky for you, there are a number of schools that offer courses in video game design. And the number of traditional schools offering video game design programs is growing every year. It’s a hot market and it takes more than just a computer science degree anymore to get into it. While you can always look into 3D design and computer programming at any major university, there are some schools that you’ll be able to find almost anywhere that offer specific courses in video game design.

Devry is a school that most have probably heard of and might at first shun because of its mass marketed approach to schooling. But with its video game design program, Devry offers specific, targeted courses that prepare the potential video game designer for exactly what they’ll be working on.

You’ll take courses in game specific math and physics, computer animation, and design mechanics that are all focused directly to video game related topics. The result is a school that doesn’t just teach you about 3D animation, but about 3D animation in video games. Devry will be comparable to a major university in cost though, operating independently as they do, nearly $14,000 a year for full tuition.

The Art Institute is a nationwide network of schools that offers everything from fashion design to cooking. But as the fastest growing art related field, computer animation and specifically video game design have made the Art Institute one of the best schools to get a degree in the art of video games.

Not only do they offer an online school, which includes separate programs in Animation Programming and a Game Art and Design Program, there’s also the option of extending your schooling and receiving a Bachelor’s degree, something many of the technical colleges don’t offer. Tuition for the Art Institute, if you attend a physical branch is fairly high, comparable to out of state tuition at a major university. The online school is a cheaper option but will still cost you about $1200 per course.

ITT Technical Institute is another one of those very commonly heard names that pops up constantly on the TV, and one that offers a video game design specific program that will prepare you for entry level work in less than 3 years. ITT has 85 locations, so it’s easy to find, but you’ll be paying full tuition like many of the other private institutes listed, comparable to out of state tuition in most states.

For those that complete a two-year course in video game design, it’s possible to come out of school and immediately find a job making video games. And for those getting a four year degree, it’s almost guaranteed you’ll land an entry-level job designing the games of tomorrow. The video game design market is hotter than ever right now, and it’s becoming easier and easier to get in at the ground floor.

1) Seek inspiration, and you will find.

Let’s say you have landed a high-paying graphic design account. You are excited — and yet somewhat frightened. You fear that your creativity might fail you or you might stumble with creative obstacles throughout the project. This is probably not true, so don’t believe these fears. Anxiety is always counterproductive when you’re seeking inspiration. The best place to look for inspiration is everywhere around you. Everywhere you look, you can see something interesting and worth replicating or tinkering with in the design studio.

2) Explore your own surroundings or different environments for inspiration.

Certain environments and surroundings can automatically evoke a certain style. The Old West is full of its own motifs, as well as every other region in the world, each with their own specific style. Surely you can find inspiration in your own environment. Become sensitive to your local landscape. What do the trees look like? How does the sun affect everything around you? What colors, textures and smells do you find around you? Receiving tangible and intangible cues through your senses — visual, touch, smell, aural, etc. — can generate ideas for different and new designs.

3) Explore old designs in a new way.

Exploring older designer is another useful way to generate new ideas. If you have a design job that requires you to create a new soda can, for instance, then perhaps you can research vintage soda can designs from a certain decade. Researching how others have reviewed specific objects can often help in generating ideas. You may decide to redesign an older vintage label, or simply put a new twist on an old favorite design.

4) Explore the latest design trends.

New, cutting edge trends can inspire your creativity. What are the latest trends in design, and how can you use these trends in a new and unique way? Perhaps your design job is well suited to a modern, cutting edge design. Take a look at the latest issues of local and national design magazines. These can give you a close look at the latest design motifs.

5) Research your client’s tastes and preferences.

When you land a new design job, always quiz your client. Many clients are not incredibly helpful when it comes to design ideas. But knowing your client is sometimes what you need to generate a design that they will drool over.

6) Look at the fashion world for unique design ideas.

If studying the latest design trends is not enough, then turn your attention to the fashion world. Many fashion trends on the so called “catwalk” influence overall design trends and designers in other disciplines eventually translate them into the larger design world. Take a look at cutting edge fashion magazines, runway shows and style trendsetters. Chances are that the style of today will enter the graphic design world of tomorrow.