Web design combines several disciplines
Web design combines computer programming, graphic design and photography to produce an on-line interactive and detailed "business card." A website can be very basic, providing the user clickable links displaying information about a business or organization. At the other end of the spectrum it can be a very complex "front-end" to a business application providing secured users the ability to view and change data records, such as an on-line banking web site.
Our focus in web design
In the absence of specific requirements provided by a client, RufusTech focuses on the following aspects of web design in order to provide the best value to our clients:
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Look and feel consistent with your existing business image: We spend the initial design phase getting to know your business, your philosophy, your key people and departments, slogans, colors, forms, and images used in your existing physical and paper-based business image. We use what we gather from you to design the "look and feel" that reflects what your business or organization is all about.
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Simple to navigate: The most common complaint about web sites is that people cannot find the information they are looking for because of overly complicated designs that befuddle would-be viewers of a site. We focus on easy to navigate menu structures which are usable and understandable to the broadest group of people--from the web savvy daily "surfers" to the complete Internet novice: We do not want to limit any potential customers from getting to know your business through your web site based on something as arbitrary as computer literacy.
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Browser compatibility: The other most common complaint is that features on websites appear to be "broken" because the web designers only tested in their favorite web browser, or used a design tool that favors one browser. Making sure that your web site will look and function properly on all of the most commonly used web browsers and computer platforms is of vital importance to the success of your web site. (Internet Explorer and Safari are the two web browsers that come pre-installed on Windows® and Macintosh® personal computers. FireFox and Opera are very popular award-winning browsers made by companies whose main business is creating a quality browsing experience. The Opera browser is used on many handheld devices and mobile telephones in addition to Windows® and Macintosh® computers.
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Screen size: The web pages' width should fit on a typical personal computer monitor without necessitating any horizontal scrolling. This issue is often overlooked, as web designers tend to have larger monitors than the computing masses. In addition, proper design also insures that web pages will look as good as possible on the very small screens featured on mobile telephones and other miniature computing devices.
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Search engine friendly pages: We keep abreast of the many and ever-changing techniques for making a web site "friendly" to the search engine indexing robots, so that your site will be recognized and returned by search engines as often as possible for your unique and regional business offerings.
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Vital input and participation from our clients for a successful web site development project
Many clients do not at first realize that their timely input and participation are critical to a successful web site, and a successful project delivered on time and within budget. The following are the main items we need:
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What are your main objectives in launching or improving your web site? The answer to this question helps us focus our design efforts.
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Text about your business which will be used to fill out the web pages.
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Web site links to articles about your or relevant to your business (if any exist).
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Existing photos, graphics, and logos which are part of the current corporate image that will be reflected on your web pages.
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List of search terms and keywords by which you would like your site to be categorized and indexed on Internet searches.
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Are there trade journals, listing services, complementary service providers, business partners, and/or other web sites relevant to your business area which you can request to publish a link to your web site? Having other sites link to your new web site will increase its relevancy to the search engines, thus increasing the chances of your site coming up in relevant web searches.
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Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
This refers to work performed in an effort to have a client's web site come up for a given set of search terms submitted to the web search engines such as Google™, Yahoo!® and MSN/Bing.
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Organic search results: The non-sponsored web sites that come up for given search terms reflecting the supposed "most-relevant" web sites.
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Sponsored search results: The web sites which come up for search terms specifically selected and paid for by a business to drive selected users to their site, also known as "PPC" or Pay-Per-Click.
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Ethics and Search Engine Optimization
RufusTech only performs ethical search engine optimization. We are not affiliated with Google™, although we do currently follow their established guidelines for search engine inclusion as we feel they set the standards by which all major search engines currently operate.
Be suspicious of any SEO company that makes specific promises as to how high your site will come up in searches such as promises of "Top 5" or "Top 10" results. It is not possible to honestly make such promises. Unethical SEO work on your web site can result in your site being banned by Google™ or other search engines, which can result in much lost business with only time-consuming (weeks or months) corrective actions possible.
Warning Quote from Google's Web Site
Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a "special relationship" with Google, or advertise a "priority submit" to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. This quote was taken from this page on Google's webmaster support site.
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