The first issue is Customization. A web design company that uses Templates to create your web site may only be able to offer you limited customization options such as different colours or themes, but the basic layout remains pretty much the same for every web site based on that template. The other option is using programs to generate the web site (like Adobe DreamWeaver), but you're limited by the features and functionality of that program.

So being able to code the complete web site in HTML (even using a simple editor like notepad) allows us to easily accomplish any layout design. We're limited only by our imagination, rather than the limitations of other programs or fixed template designs.

As computer monitors are becoming larger and using higher resolutions, it seems illogical to use fixed templates that are configured to operate at only one resolution. Instead we prefer to design the web pages to be able to use all available space in the viewers browser and then float to accommodate different resolutions. We can even design your web site to detect if the viewer is using a high resolution, and therefore show different or larger images.

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Still following on from the Custom Design issue, with our approach we can ensure there's no unnecessary code in the html files. Plus any code that is constantly being re-used (such as menus, headers and formatting settings) we configure as remote linked, so even if you view 10 different pages on the one web site, you've only loaded that code ONCE. Unlike programs or web designers that place all the code required for each html file, in each html file.

So our approach means the html files are smaller, which allows them to use less disk space, makes them much faster to load and most importantly means your site will require less bandwidth, saving you money. Plus the added benefit means they are much easier to modify or update. So if you require updates or changes made, we can get them done very quickly, which is why our maintenance fees are so low. We are not relying on slow loading or expensive programs in order to make the changes for you.

Any images that we create for your web site are also optimized to ensure they use the least amount of disk space and bandwidth. We cover this in more detail further down on this page under Optimizing Images.

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An extension to Efficiency of Design, is Functionality. Many web sites look very pretty with lots of animations, adds, and other modules like what's new etc, but when you really consider all of that, it does reduce the functionality of the web site. If most of the layout is occupied by objects that have no real bearing on the services or products that you can provide, why have them utilizing valuable browser window space ? Especially when a potential customer clicks on a link to view one of your products, only to still have 60+ percent of the page showing information or objects not related to that product.

It is our experience that people prefer a web site that is easier to understand and navigating between pages to display product information requiring the least number of clicks. Once at the product page, have most of that page dedicated to describing and detailing that product. This means they don't have to scroll as much either.

One of the largest issues is the visual size of product pictures. So as an extension of Functionality of Design, in our opinion a web site should be as informative as possible, so that any potential customer can obtain the maximum amount of information as they need for them to be able to make an informed decision about purchasing your products.

Yet so many web sites have really small resolution images, which makes it very difficult to see what the product is like. It doesn't matter how much text description is there, people prefer pictures. So we ensure that the size of the images are large enough to adequately display your product with as much detail as possible. Also if you have numerous pictures of your products then we like to incorporate user interactive slide shows so your potential customers can select from a range of thumbnails which picture they wish to view.

So by ensuring the pages are not cluttered with unnecessary objects (Functionality of Design), we can make your product pictures as big as they need to be. In the picture example those flowers are very wide, but not very high, so by choosing a different page layout for that product, means we can utilize the full width of the browser window to show the picture in as much detail as possible. Each product can have its own picture resolution. Unlike template layouts where each product picture must be a fixed and set resolution, which then totally impacts on the aspect ratio of the picture (making it look too fat or too thin), or requires the picture be reduced in size so that it fits at the correct aspect ratio. We think it is important to show your products as accurately and clearly as possible.

It is also worth mentioning in this section that some Web Design companies will design your web site using CMS (Content Management System), however it is then up to you to add all your content (such as all your products and services information). Now some customers may like the ability to manage their own content and add their own products, but it is our experience that the majority don't. They want someone else to do all of that work. We agree, so the web sites we design for our customers include adding all the required content.

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A large resolution image is good, as we have explained in the above Functionality section, but that usually means the filesize of the image will also be large. Any web designers that use programs like Adobe DreamWeaver to generate all the code and images for use on your web site, can't optimize each image. This can result in some images having a large filesize.

So we manually optimize each image individually to ensure that the maximum amount of detail is retained, but also ensuring the filesize remains small. We often use multiple image formats to ensure this, because each format has its own benefits depending on the image content.

The benefits of having optimized images are quite obvious. They will use much less disk space, they will be much faster to load and most importantly they will use less bandwidth, which will save you money. We can't stress enough, just how important this aspect is. Your web site visitors will not want to wait 20 seconds for just one large image to load, so we optimize all images to reduce the loading times as much as possible.

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We would all like to consider ourselves to be good photographers, but the reality is, most people are just too busy to take good photos of their products, so they just take snapshots on basic point and shoot digital cameras or mobile phones in poor unbalanced lighting with very little to no consideration for composition, focus, framing, depth of field, exposure or perspective. So the end result is the photos usually have poor or distracting backgrounds, harsh shadows and probably out of focus. All of which impact negatively on your product.

This is where we can help because we are all interested in photography and members of camera clubs in our areas. So why not let us help you by taking the photos for you. To see some examples of the photos we have taken for some of our existing clients click on any of the following links. All of the photos on Oodles of Options and most of the high quality photos on Austech Medical. Some direct links you can visit Here for this Slide show or Here for this product and Here for this product and animation. One last example are the photos on Extreme kayaks Website. Pictures on the Main page and pictures of the OutLaw Kayak, Fish Bandit Kayak Colour Range and Closeup of Features pictures.

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If you already have average quality photos of your products you wish to use, we can still help you by providing our photographic editing services. We can edit and enhance your existing photos to make them as good as they can be. We can compensate or correct any issues that maybe exhibited in these photos, such as harsh shadows, poor lighting, poor composition, distracting background, incorrect white balance and distorted perspective, to name just a few.

The only thing that can't be corrected is if the pictures are too out of focus. So if you wish to take your own photos the best bit of advice we can offer is USE A TRIPOD. If a tripod is unavailable then at the very least place the camera on a chair, table or box. Do not hold the camera. Second tip is where possible photograph in balanced light and if possible without using the inbuilt remedial "head on" flash.

This original image was quite good quality but still required adjustments to the colour balance, histogram and exposure levels. Plus removal of the distracting background. Resolution of the edited image is 350 x 221 pixels. Filesize is 12.4KB
	Now you may also find yourself having to display an image of a product that also includes a company logo or brand name that you do not have permission to use, or it could be that of a competitor, so as long as you have permission to use the photo (if you didn't take it yourself), then we can edit out anything in the photo that you do not wish to display. Here you can see we have removed the background and the harsh shadow caused by photographing in direct sunlight, plus made adjustments to colour balance, histogram and exposure levels. We have also edited out the brand name listed on the side of the kayak, but still retained all the shadow, texture and colour of the kayak and seat. Resolution of the edited image is 350 x 246 pixels. Filesize is 9.7KB
The final editing example. The standard digital camera has had a major problem here with exposure, so adjustments were made to colour balance, white balance, histogram, exposure and contrast. Plus removal of the dark background. Clearly the camera flash could not cover much distance which has resulted in the background to be so dark. Plus that then completely blends all the dark green leaves of the floral arrangement. Resolution of the edited image is 250 x 333 pixels. Filesize is 23.9KB (filesize is larger than the kayak pictures due to the fine detail and numerous colour ranges of the flowers)

We just can't stress enough how important good or high quality optimized images are to the presentation of your web site.

First impressions are the most important so if potential customers can't see your products clearly enough due to having small, low quality images, they will most likely choose to purchase from somewhere else. This could also happen if they can't work out how to navigate your web site if it is too "busy" or cluttered with unnecessary animations or adds.

So if any of the above issues are as important to you, as they are to us, then why not contact us for a no obligation free quote. Or you can goto our Packages page to get an idea of what we charge. The services we offer for the price we charge, I think you'll find hard to beat.

Now we understand your time is valuable, so we thought it might be beneficial to you if we were to list some of the other Web Design companies around, so you can see what they are offering and then make your own comparisons to the value of services and features we can offer.

We have just done a few google searches to find these companies. We have no association with any of them.

So keep in mind everything that we have mentioned above in Parts 1 and 2, but also a few other things to look for are: Cost of Domain Name Registration. In our opinion it should not cost any more than ~ $40 per year. Web Site Hosting Fees. The highest amount we charge is $10 per month. which is $120 per year. Do their web sites support multiple resolutions. As most people are moving to widescreen Flat Panel Monitors for their computers (or laptops), we think it is beneficial if the website can "float" or be displayed in full screen at any resolution. Finally do you have to add your own content?.

• Affordable Websites by Oxygen Internet

• Web Basic

• Keep it Simple Sites

• Gold Web Marketing

• Platypus Websites

• au Web Group

• ion E business

• Zoom Web

• The Web show

Don't forget to check out our Packages Page.