In other words, small business person, you can compete with big business. The Internet is the great leveling field. And you do it through e-commerce. Through what?

It is conducting business online. You sell your goods or services electronically.

If you haven’t already, you definitely need to invest in e-commerce. The potential is incredible. In 2012 Small Business Matters columnist Heather Clancy noted that $1 of every $10 of discretionary spending was done via e-commerce. And here’s the rub. About 67% of that went to big retail chains.

A big chunk of that could — instead — go to you.

Some say online shopping — or e-commerce — is the future. We say the future is already here. Over half of us have mobile devices and a large number of people in that half shop for goods and services online.

Here’s a great example. Black Friday is the annual day after Thanksgiving biggest shopping day of the year. In 2012 Black Friday saw online sales hit $1 billion. That — says comScore — is a 20.7% jump over 2011.

Cyber Monday sales the following Monday were 30% higher than 2011 and hit somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.5 billion.

ComScore also says from November 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012, we spent $42.3 billion for goods and services online. That’s up 14% from 2011.

There are tremendous opportunities for your small business with a solid e-commerce strategy. Here are some known facts:

• People can do e-commerce shopping at any time day or night so your business can actually be open 24/7 even though you aren’t physically there.
• People shopping for your goods or services do not have to be at home in front of their computer. It can be done from anywhere over mobile devices like phones and iPads, etc.
• E-commerce doesn’t necessarily have to be product-based. Some merchants providing services use e-commerce software and techniques to schedule appointments and provide other services.
• An e-commerce presence allows you to attract new customers and people that aren’t even in your area.

E-commerce takes some effort and it is worth the energy investment. Software programs are available that help you display products or services, handle payments and manage your inventory and more.

To succeed you will need to take some steps. First of all, if you don’t have a good website, get one. If you have one, or when you get one, you’ll need to make it mobile device friendly. As noted earlier, many of your customers are visiting your website with mobile devices.

If you have the ability to do videos displaying your goods and services, do so. If not, try to find a way to do some of this on your website. Video is a rapidly growing technique for growing e-commerce business. It allows people to see your product or service and allows you to demonstrate its worthiness as if the person is actually in your store.

The layout of a business website will vary depending on the type of business the site has been designed to represent and the goals of that website. For example, an informative site developed for a law firm will be different from an e-commerce site designed to generate sales. Though the layout may change, however, the key information that should appear on any business website remains the same regardless of the business.

Each page of a business website should contain the following key elements:

• Banner- also referred to as a header, this is the top of the page that will likely be the most attention-grabbing aspect of the page. This may be where the title of the page will be located or a search bar to allow easy navigation of your website.
• Company Logo-a logo is an important element of any business. Logos create brand recognition and continuity, both of which are essential for developing a loyal customer base. A logo does not have to be complicated, but it should be readily recognizable in connection with your company and placed prominently on the page to reinforce your brand.
• Navigation Menu-you want your visitors to be able to move around your site without having to hunt for navigation tools. This menu should be straightforward and offer the options on your page presented in simple language so that your visitor can quickly and easily find the information that he needs.
• Content- this is the article, blog post, product listing or contact form for which the page was developed. Appropriately, it should take up most of the page and be organized, clean and easy to read.
• Footnotes- found along the bottom of the page, the footnotes of your site provide additional navigation tools that are not necessarily needed in the navigation menu as well as other important information such as contact details, copyright information and resource links.

The best web design layouts are those that will organize the information that you want to present in a visually appealing and easy to consume way. Many visitors to business websites are rushed and will not take the time to look through every aspect of a page. Rather, they will skim through pages and take in the main points that jump out at them. When developing the web design layout for your business, it is important to design the page in such a way that the following key elements are prominently displayed:

• Your company logo
• A header that will catch the attention of readers and compel them to continue reading
• A strong call-to-action that will let them know what they should do
• Brief, specific benefits that will explain why they should convert
• Contact information that makes your company accessible to your visitors

Here are some tips for choosing an effective web design layout for your business:

• About half of your visitors will only look at information that is “above the fold”, that is, in the portion of the page that does not require scrolling. Make sure that this portion of your page is well-designed and appealing, but in balance with the rest of the page so that visitors get actual information rather than only seeing a header. The most important information that should be listed above the fold includes: a clear call-to-action including a link or contact form that will allow your visitors to convert, contact information including a phone number and email address and easy-to-understand content that explains the benefits of converting and compels your visitor to continue exploring your site. The most important thing to keep in mind is that your visitor will only do what is made easy and obvious for him to do. This means that the area above the fold should give clear guidance to your visitors in what they need to do to sign up for your newsletter, purchase a product or whatever conversion activity you planned for that particular page.
• Choose your color scheme carefully. The layout of your page will determine much of how the balance of colors works on the page, so make sure that you are not choosing colors that will clash or one that will become overbearing when applied to large portions of the template.
• Do not try to fit too much content into your layout. Web design layouts are designed specifically to hold a particular amount of information and if you try to force too much into it you will end up skewing the finished product which will look disorganized and messy. Rather, choose a layout that allows for more content by reducing the size of other elements on the page.

Stylized Typography – Until recently, web designers were a little limited in the area of typography and were forced to stay within the limits of “web safe” fonts. Thankfully though, technological advancement means designers can now use stylized typography as a designs staple. Typography in design has been around forever but lost a bit of luster online, until now. Resources like CSS Typeset, Typetester and WhatTheFont have offered designers the option to be more creative, more bold and quite frankly, have a lot more fun with designs.

Negative Space – Negative space refers to blank or uncluttered/unused space on a page. This free space is visually restful because it’s a break from the typical web clutter. Negative space doesn’t have to be white, it can be any color in the rainbow. When combined with bold imagery, negative space plays very well in advertising and interfacing.

Minimalism – To piggy back on the trend of negative space, we’ll discuss minimalism. An age-old concept to be sure, only now minimalism has taken on a stylish turn. Using a minimalist approach to highlight certain messages makes it very simple for a designer to get a point across and draw in viewers.  Of late, we’re seeing a lot of negative space, minimalism and stylized typography in one design! When a minimalist design is organized with a grid system, the final look is very polished and professional.

Responsive Interface Design – Let’s face facts, the attention span of the average web user is very short. If a website responds slowly to a user’s input, the user will click away faster than you can say “Google.” Thus, when building a website, it’s important that the elements of a webpage respond quickly to user input. Drop-down boxes, fly-outs, and pop-up windows should respond smoothly and quickly. Webmasters are now incorporating JavaScript tools that make it much more seamless to animate user interface features. No matter what the web page looks like, the users comfort in interacting with the website is the most important factor.

These few examples are just a drop in the bucket compared to the entire list of growing web design trends. Combined with solid SEO, a well-designed website can ensure traffic and, for business owners, customers.  When it comes to web design, it’s more important than ever to stand out and be unique. Embracing new trends and techniques can help any webmaster stay ahead of the design curve. As modern technology evolves to offer more flexibility in design, the sky is truly the limit!

There’s a wide variety of misconception when it comes to web design. Contrary to popular belief, a good web design is not the only thing necessary to be successful in e-commerce. In fact, solid web design is the cornerstone of a successful web performance – but there are a number of other  ‘stones’ that will help take your web performance to the next level.

Let’s start with SEO. Great web design alone does not take into account the need for search engine ranking. Search engine ranking comes from SEO (search engine optimization). Basically, the content loaded to the site after the design is in place – including the updates you make on a weekly or monthly basis – should be written in a way that speaks to major search engines so you can earn a high page rank.  By high page rank, we’re referring to the number spot your site holds when someone conducts a search for keywords that fit your company’s focus.  Page 1, spot 1 would be the best of course, then Page 1, spot 2, and so on. Just like web design, SEO is an art form. ILaunch Media Group’s web design can help catapult you into online success, but we highly recommend quality SEO to help speed the ROI on your website.

You NEED a strong web design. It truly is the basis for success on the web.  But, there are other things you can use to improve your chance of success and expedite that success.  Dynamic web design by ILaunch Media Group is only one piece of the puzzle. We highly recommend the aforementioned ‘addendum’s’ to set your success in motion.

Awesome web design + SEO Services + Strong Marketing = A perfectly brewed success formula

Web design and SEO is a skill — a skill that professional designers, like those in our teams have spent countless hours learning and evolving. A small business owner ends up wasting valuable time and hard-earned money (time and money better spent on his or her business) creating a website that will never rank above page ten. Very, Very rarely does a consumer search past page 2 when seeking a service provider. Creating an esthetically pleasing, informative, easy to use website that actually performs as expected is an ABSOLUTE MUST for staying competitive in business.

Professional web design is a lot less expensive than most people think. And it usually ends up paying for itself within the first month to six weeks of activation. Aside from the fact that a professionally designed website flat out “looks” better – it also offers SEO peace of mind. Being optimized is the ONLY thing that will get website noticed by major search engines like Google, MSN and Bing – meaning it’s also the ONLY thing that will get a business website traffic.

The long and short of it is this: Professional Web Design from ILMG translates to traffic, Traffic translates to customers, and customers translate to CA$H in the bank. Naturally, decision lies in the hands of the business owner – but for most, it’s a no-brainer. Let ILMG help you – it’s what we do!

• Do they have verifiable clients list or posted testimonials?
• Can you reach them when you need them after completing the site?
• If any legal or project delivery complications arise, can you hold them accountable?
• Can you verify them as a company/organization with state issued business license?
• If they are outsourcing company, will they provide free support for you, will they guarantee the code quality?
• Do they have free ongoing support?

These should be the first line of qualification verifications you need to check, before you even check their portfolio or designs. Because, if there is a red flag in any of the above points no matter how good graphics skills they have, your decision might not be the right one. Low price website designs are good, as a human we always tend to go that route, but I would strongly recommend comparing apples to apples by comparing your low cost quote with your other quotes to ensure you are getting the same quality deal. Finally, make sure there is always a formal proposal written and signed with the deliverables of your project.

It’s a combined effort between you and the company who developed your website. Most companies use opensource carts for e-commerce develpment to keep the initial development costs low. While that is good opensource carts are wide open to hackers as well. So how do you keep your site secure?

#1 Always make sure you have the recent version of cart installed, it will be easy to update it periodically versus every few years. As the configurations and tables might completely change and if you don’t upgrade for few years it might as well be same cost as developing a new site.
#2 Make sure all your files are properly secured, which means ensure none of the files have 777 as permission. Most of the carts work fine with 644 or 755.
#3 Make 444 as permission for your configuration or database files.
#5 Password protect your admin directory with directory protection from your web host.
#6 Install a contribution that blocks invalid IP, almost all opensource carts have this contribution to secure your files.

Web Hosting companies can secure all they can and want, but if the script is not secured, world’s best hosting company can’t protect your site.

In one word i would like to say “because we are awesome and create better websites”. But that’s not the right answer. Most of the time this question can be answered with a question. What do you want out of your website? i mostly hear one or few of this – unique, better than the “other” guys, better focused on search engines, you only have 5 seconds on average to impress your visitor. Now my question is does your template or DIY website meet or satisfy all the items on your list?, if the answer is yes you are probably better off with a template. But most of the time we hear some major items that do not meet your requirement or what you are looking for your website to do.

Custom website designers are not as exclusive or expensive as designer clothes but we can use that for a good comparision. Let’s face it, if all of us have an option between designer clothes and generic brand, we will go for the designer brand, why? we know they fit better, they feel better, they look posh,better personalized service, better quality. The custom website desgin service we offer is very similar, tailored for your business and your goals, 24/7 support to create/manage graphics or content, custom designed appeal, fresh new look different from all the “other guys” and a dedicated team to help you make the right call. All this without an expensive price tag.

Custom website pays off better than DIY websites, because your website will be up to date, not outdated, professionally designed and dont need to touch it for another 2 – 3 years.

What i learned from this experience:

1. Have your content ready. We all are busy and content is the last thing on the list, but i think this is the msot time consuming process and we need to have this done first.
2. Have a good idea of what stock images and graphics you like to use on the site.
3. Be ready to spend atleast few hours a day dedicated to review and provide feedback.
4. Delegate your work if you are busy. ( i hate deligation )
5. Don’t blame the designer for being slow, keep up the pace and he will be right there with you. You slow down he understands the project is not prioroity and jumps to another project. (But, i did warn him not to be slow because i am slow)