On the web presentation is critical, content is king, and placement in search rankings can hinge on the aggregated value of many tiny factors. Many of these items are ones you may not even realize are being observed by everyone from your everyday customer to the crawlers at Google.

Everyone wants to jump in with both feet and get their site up to snuff, but walk before you run, take it in phases - From design, and hosting, to marketing and beyond. Where do you start?

Start here, with the list below. Use these ideas as a catalyst for your first round of fixes, changes, and updates:

1. Ease of use / access to deliverable

a. Organized and Intuitive Navigation
b. Easy, comprehensive information access
c. Priority information within two-to-three clicks

2. Evoke unique and positive user experience

a. Unique & captivating style
b. A working, functional website - seems like an obvious starting point but often it’s missed…
c. Proper mark-up: HTML / CSS design and standards compliance
d. More universal: cross-browser / cross-OS consistency

3. Get Found - Marketing / Promotion

a. Search Engine Optimization - Organic? Pay-per-Click? Both?
b. Start with establishing some back links (a.k.a. one-way links) from topical / relevant 3rd party sites

4. High quality, Relevant, topic-specific content

a. Give people what they came looking for
b. Not too little, not too much information
c. Promote and even encourage contact with a company rep when relevant (e.g. on sales & service sites)
d. minimize contact when relevant (e.g. efficiency-driven sites, information output)

5. Actively differentiate your site from other similar sites (those are your competitors folks!) utilizing various aspects of items 1-4.

Perhaps you have heard about the next new version of Microsoft Windows, called Vista? The Vista operating system has many promises to one great, stable and dynamic operating system. Not only will this operating system have the .Net framework built into the core of the operating system it will also feature some other key communications, user interface and security breakthroughs.

For instance Vista will utilize the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) which will greatly increase the aesthetic value of each application. Perhaps you may be familiar with a website developed with Flash animation software. Now picture the same type of functionality and aesthetics however instead of being restricted to a website format having the freedom to develop the interface so it is a true Windows application. Further, this WPF will allow for much easier and faster deployments of these applications through the use of “one click deployment” technology. If you are familiar with the updater application block and the BITS service then you are already familiar with innovation. However, instead of being some cumbersome application block you will be able to easily deploy these applications with just a few clicks from your development environment.

Secondly the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) will provide a secure and reliable messaging platform which will allow for a new era in the creativity of application developers. This WCF will bring in a new time when true service oriented applications will become commonplace. This will make it much easier to connect businesses to each other and their customers.

The in built security mechanisms will make for a much more secure platform as well. Since this operating system is built around the .Net framework Code Access Security will be much easier to enforce and maintain. Code access security is when the author of the program can specify exactly what the program is allowed to do based upon the role of the user who is accessing the software. This will allow for a much finer grained security mechanism which will make software much more trustworthy by the end user.

Another feature of Vista is called SuperFetch. SuperFetch seems to be a caching mechanism for frequently used files so that the end user experiences fast response times and is not hindered by the background tasks that the operating system is performing. This will greatly speed up and perhaps cause less system crashes thereby making the OS much more stable.

One other great feature of Vista is its use of the sidebar and gadgets. Gadgets are small programs that either you or someone else has created that performs some frequently used task such as viewing the latest weather or traffic information from your desktop. Now this might seem to be a small feature but I am sure the general public will eat this feature up and it is one place where some new innovative software inventions might take place. It might even make managing your life that much easier.

Perhaps the best feature of Vista is its new ability to easily search through and organize your files for later retrieval. I cannot tell you how many times I have had to search my own hard drive for a file that I knew I created but could not remember where I stored it.

Let’s face it Windows XP and Windows 2000 are by now old fashioned. The public needs a new operating system simply because the other’s are beginning to show their age. It is time for an upgrade.

by: Richard Callaby

Often times we get so caught up in marketing our site and making it aesthetically pleasing, we forget one of, if not THE most important part of SEO. Content. The search engines can not see pictures, so the only way to tell them what your site is all about is to provide that information to them via text. But why is it so difficult to put text on our sites?

During the creation of a site, we often care more about how it looks than how it functions. Flash, in my opinion, can be used to create some of the most beautiful sites out there. We get so drawn into making nice layouts with neat animations, we completely neglect the fact that we are building a site for the world, not just us.

The content on your site should actually be the first thing you think of when optimizing it. You need to convey to the search engines that your site is worthy of ranking, and that you are here to offer something to the masses. I often give this advice to customers, and get a great deal of fearful feedback. I hear a lot of “I don’t even know what to write.” Well, your site is an extension of your business/service/whatever, and as such you are likely to be well versed in that area. But I think people get caught up in the idea that the text is going to be placed on the site, promoting the attention to variables such as what font to use, what color, how it will look, etc.

The best advice that I can give in reference to thinking of text, is to close your site, use notepad (not Word. This creates problems when deciding to copy and paste), or a pen and paper (these do exist you know), and just put your thoughts to reality. Just write. Write about your business, yourself, your products, the history of your company, whatever. Just write. Before you know it, you will have well over 800 words of cryptic information all about your industry. As I write this, I am not thinking about my blog or my site, but only what I am trying to convey to you, the reader. Once you have all that information, organize it. Make it mean something, and make sense. Given enough thought, it will not be too difficult to come up with at least 500 words, which is a good amount of text to be placed on a website.

Once the content is on the site, you can obviously tweak it here and there to make proper use of your search terms (this will most likely happen anyway. You are writing on or about the same subject as your site, right?). And once that is done, you can then figure out what the layout, spacing, font, and all the other wonderful cosmetics the online world can offer will be.

As with all things online, this is easier written than done. But try this method out and see if it helps. To me, writing is my very weakest point, and this helps a great deal. Content is so very important to search engine optimization, and should be treated as such.

by: SEO Factor

Praxis co-founder and CEO, Dean Sauls was recently invited to have a logo he developed for Raleigh, NC restaurant Five Star included in the design anthology LogoLounge 3: 2,000 International Identities by Leading Designers. Advanced copies of the book, by Bill Gardner, Catharine Fishel, arrived here at Praxis Design Studios last month, and the book is available online and in stores now. This is the third volume in the best-selling LogoLounge series. The tome provides 2,000 totally new logos from the best designers worldwide and was compiled in association with LogoLounge.com, a website dedicated to logos and branding. The authors endeavor to further explore the depth of talent required to achieve success in modern identity development, which must traverse a variety of media equally well.

Author Bill Gardner is president of Gardner Design and has produced work for Learjet, Thermos, Nissan, Pepsi, Pizza Hut, among others. He is founding president of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) Wichita chapter. Author Catharine Fishel runs a full-service editorial company that specializes in working with designers, advertising agencies and related industries. She is the author of numerous books and writes for many international design magazines.

Praxis Design Studios is proud to announce the launch of an all new web site design, developed on behalf of Raleigh, North Carolina business success story, Hereghty patisserie and cafe. (www.hereghty.com/).

This cafe got a new design that is more user-friendly and better reflects the tasty experience you get when you walk into Hereghty, a pastry and dessert cafe located in Raleigh, NC. The website provides information on the many confections and coffees they offer. Naturally, this dynamic, new website is an important marketing tool for this wonderful business. Praxis has also developed MODUS, a custom content management system that enables clients, like Hereghty, to quickly and easily add, edit and delete content without having to know complex programming languages. This exclusive backend interface gives website control back to the client.

Praxis, which is based in Raleigh, North Carolina, develops cutting-edge websites and high impact graphic design for local and national clients of every size. Owned by designers and fine artists Dean Sauls and Tricia Sauls, Praxis Design Studios has been in operation as a Graphic Design and Web Development company since 1997.

Recent clients of Praxis Design Studios include: Boston Scientific, Live Nation, Special Olympics NC 2007, Rouge, Integrian, Ambiente Furniture, and Primp Salon and Bar.

Visit http://www.hereghty.com
Praxis Design Studios: http://www.praxisstudios.com

Some websites fare well. Others falter - and miserably at that. What’s the difference? What do the successful websites do right and what do the failed websites do wrong?

The answer - or answers even - isn’t difficult to fathom. There are quite a number of common mistakes that seal the fate on internet marketers and their dreams. Here are 6 of them, which hopefully, you’d try to avoid at all cost.

1. A slow loading website. There is nothing more irritating than a website that tales forever to load. Granted that most internet users these days have high speed connections, a great percentage are still hooked up to the World Wide Web via slower 56K access. This percentage should not be taken for granted. In building your website, try to stay away from the humongous graphic files. No, you don’t need a high number of pixels. No, you don’t need fancy movies or flash animation. No, you don’t need catchy music. You need a website that will deliver the information it promises at an instantaneous rate, and for this reason, you have to choose functionality over design.

2. A navigation system that is very difficult to understand. If your menu bar is too complicated, you’ll just end up driving away a lot of your visitors. You don’t want your visitors to get stuck in just one page. You need to make it easy for them to explore your website. Your pages must be interlinked in a logical way, and this connection should be easily navigable through an intuitive interface that even a 7 year old will be able to understand. Again, this is a matter of functionality over design. Place your navigation links either at the top of the page right below the header, or at either side of the page in a separate column. This is where your visitors’ eyes will wander once they want to discover the other pages in your website.

3. Low quality content. Content is king on the internet. People log online to find information they need, and information is conveyed through your content. If your content is poorly written, who will have the patience to read the same? If your content is not unique, why will people choose your website over others? Indeed, there are two requisites for good quality content: excellent presentation and originality. Minus either of this, your entire website will be in jeopardy.

4. Poor choice of keywords to focus on. Keywords drive traffic to your website. Keywords are the terms that people search for when they’re looking for information. If you targeted the right keywords, quality visitors will come aplenty. If you targeted the wrong keywords, visitors will be scarce. So make sure you discover the right keywords even before you start building your website.

5. Cookie cutter websites. Again, this is a matter of originality - or the lack of it. Why would people choose your website over thousands of others sharing the same layout and boasting of the same content? What makes your website special? If these questions cannot be answered positively, then your online business is doomed. Worse, search engines penalize duplicate content, and your website will have a lower position in the search engine results.

6. A website that lacks focus. Focus is key in designing a website. It will be difficult for a website to focus on several, unrelated topics. Why would visitors who are interested with dogs be interested with astronomy? There’s no connection between the two subjects, and if your website caters to these topics, among others, then prepare for some rough sailings ahead.

These are the things you should try to avoid. Your online business depends on how well your website fares. So take some time to think about how you can properly build your website.

by: Mike Spence

Professional web design is becoming more important in today’s ever-chaging marketplace. Whether you are trying to establish yourself as an online presence or acquire more business, professional web design has become a must. What is it that distinguishes you from your competition? How often do you find yourself wishing you had an online presence? Are you an entrepreneur? Would your business be better served by professional web design?

So, how do you think your business could be better served by professional web design? Could it be one of the following reasons:

• Content Management System, CMS update your own web site
• Flash Design, dynamic and eye-catching
• CSS Design, optimized for search engines
• Search Engine Optimization
• E-Commerce Development, online store
• Sales Inquiry Forms, acquire new business
• Video Presentations, flash video
• Product Launch, press releases
• Recreating a Professional Look, beat out your competition

Praxis Design Studios, realizes the importance of professional web development and what it means to your business in terms of deadlines. That is why we strive to complete your professional website design in weeks instead of months. After gathering the necessary information to complete your website, we give ourselves a deadline. This helps us ensure that your professionally-designed website is completed in a timely manner.

Praxis Design Studios is proud to announce the launch of two all new sites, developed on behalf of Raleigh, North Carolina business success story, Paul Sedaris: Sedaris Hardwood Flooring and You Can’t Kill the Rooster. (www.SedarisHardwoodFloors.com/
and www.YouCantKillTheRooster.com/).

With a stylized design that is functional and user-friendly, the new Sedaris Harwood Flooring site provides information about the company while also educating the viewer about the craft of installing hardwood flooring. The addition of sample displays, a photo gallery of past work, and an online store selling Sedaris tee-shirts, combine to make the new website a vital marketing tool as well.

Paul Sedaris also commissioned the creation of YouCantKillTheRooster.com. With a good natured view of his role in the stories that made Sedaris a household name, the site gives life to Paul’s alter ego, “The Rooster.” This semi-biographical character was made famous by brother and renowned humorist, David Sedaris, in several best selling books. “The Rooster” was also famously voiced by Sedaris’ sister and Strangers with Candy comedienne, Amy Sedaris, in the corresponding audio books. With all that in mind, the site is an amusing exploration and satirical journey into the mind of “The Rooster,” complete with a Flash-based rooster-hunt game and an online novelty shop.

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There are 2 different types of search engine optimization, on-page and off page. Here you’ll learn the differences between them, and basic tips to getting your website optimized for the search engines.

What Is The Difference Between On-Page And Off-Page Search Engine Optimization

The difference is that on-page optimization involves changing elements of your actual webpages that most visitors to your site wont even notice. For example, having your keywords in specific places or writing the title a certain way. Basically it’s tweaking all elements of a page which are a factor for ranking well in the search engines.

Where as off-page optimization, is partially out of your control. You do have some control over it, but it’s largely dependant on what others think about your website, unless you take an active role in off-page optimization. Off page optimization is quite a large topic, so I’ll talk about it in a separate article.

Basic On-Page Elements You Need To Tweak

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