Blog - Primeware - Cleveland Web Design, Cleveland Web Development

Why Redesign Your Website

Sep 16, 2010 12:45 PM

You every wonder why your favorite website gets a new look every few years or so? The same reason you might change the look of your living room by either rearranging the furniture or painting it a new color. Websites need a new coat of paint just as much as you need to change that 5 year old hairstyle.

Updating Design

It is good to update your website design about every 5 years.

The same way companies may completely change their marketing strategy, websites need the same treatment. Whether it is adding or changing a few different looks and features on your website or a complete overhaul, changes to your website will be noticed. It's just like buying a new dress or shirt; you want it to be noticed.

Change and being noticed with change are good. But why is it a good thing? The main reason for changing it up is to be on top of your competitors. Your competitors are most likely going to be changing up their look also. Of course, you don't want to do exactly the same thing they are. This is why knowing your competitors, having a good knowledge of current web technologies, and knowing what you want in a new design will come in handy when redesigning your site. The best way to do this is by doing some homework and checking out your competitors' websites - All of them. This way you will have a good idea of what you are up against in your specific field.

Looking Forward

You might have your ideas in order for a redesign, but is the design up to date with today's (and tomorrow's) trends? Your new website doesn't want to be looked at as going back in time. You want your website to be looking fresh and new. This goes the same for how it is developed. If you have been paying attention with what has been happening on the web in recent years, you might have seen the web trends in style and function. Not only is style important but function and structure is just as important. As time goes on, new technologies are being developed and websites need to adapt to these new developments.

You will want to make sure that your site is being composed with standards called XHTML & CSS.

These standards fairly new but are being adapted throughout the web community. These are important because they help Search Engines index your site. Also, past web design trends include Tables and Flash. Tables have been replaced by XHTML & CSS Standards. Flash Animation has been known to increase the allure of a website with showing displays of animation with different objects. The bad thing about Flash is the loading times and the fact that the content within your Flash element will not get picked up by Search Engines. Alternates for Flash are the best way to get the results you want with the flair you need. Alternate technologies include AJAX and the new JQuery. Make sure your website developer is well versed in these technology languages.

Content, Content, Content!

After design and development are in play and your new website is up and running, it is the owner's job to maintain the content in it. Content is the mainstay of what Search Engines index for when a user searches for a site. Search Engines also like to see content changes within the site every so often. The best way to do that is to have a News & Events section featuring the latest news about your company. One of the most popular variants of the News & Event section is called a Blog.

It most definitely would help your website if you had an up-to-date blog.

Blogging is very popular due to the fact that people love to talk (write). What better way to get people to read what you write than publishing it to the web. Plus, Search Engines love any type of new content. You will notice that there are many different blogs throughout the internet. Some websites are purely blogs. Some websites have a blog as part of their website.

Wrap Up

So to sum it all up, here are the basic points:

Update your website design about every 5 years
Make sure your website is up-to-date with the latest web technologies
Content is key with SEO, so change content every so often and Blog a lot!

Hello, Carla Bella Day Spa!

Sep 8, 2010 6:51 PM

Looking for the best Day Spa in the Cleveland area? Look no further! Our latest client Carla Bella Day Spa offers a wide array of Beauty and Spa services to fit any of your needs. They are located in Brecksville, Ohio right next to Eddie's Creekside and their facility is gorgeous!

The Spa is one of the nicest in Cleveland, but their web site did not match the quality of their facility or services. I met with the owner, Carla, and we talked about what she wanted on her web site. She also mentioned that her previous web designers neglected what she was asking for and gave her a site she wasn't really proud of. She was happy that we were able to help her out and gave her something she really liked and that reflected her business in a good way.

Check out their portfolio page!

Welcome Ohio Tax Solutions!

Aug 25, 2010 7:27 PM

Hello All!

Need your Taxes done? Check out our newest client - Ohio Tax Solutions. We provided a brand new site featuring all of the services they offer. They are very happy due to the fact that we set them up with the popular CMS called WordPress.

The old site was made by the owner. He wasn't happy with it. When we got a hold of him, we told him his site was going to be top notch and easy to maintain. He was stoked! He couldn't wait for the site to go live. Take a look and let us know what you think.

Check out their portfolio page here!

The Web and HTML5

Jul 6, 2010 2:37 PM

Hi All!
The future of the web is here! Well...almost. The finalization of HTML5 is right around the corner. For those who do not know what HTML5 is, it is basically the latest version of the langauge that web pages are written in.

What is great about HTML5 is that a lot of the problems that previous versions of HTML has are now fixed. This includes simple things that appear on the web like Videos and Audio files. Before, handling videos, animation, and audio took some sort of on page scripting. This is not the case any more. To add a video, all you would have to do is add a new 'video' tag, respectively. The same thing for the audio. All you have to do is add the new 'audio' tag. No more scripting to place these beloved elements on a web page.

Before I celebrate too much, there is one thing I am worried about. I am worried about Browser Compatibility. Who knows how today's browsers will handle the launch of HTML5. One browser in particular that stands out to me is Internet Explorer. Take a look here and see what I mean. I know Microsoft was never really into Web Standards but HTML5 seems like a prime opportunity to get things right on the web.

To sum everything up, I am really excited to see the launch of HTML5. The only thing that worries me is the lack of implementation of "certain" companies.

Welcome to our site!

Mar 18, 2010 6:33 PM

Welcome to the new Primeware.net! It has been awhile since the site has had a new design since it's launch in 2005. Since it is good to change a website design every 5 years, it just seemed right to do this for 2010. Plus, the old website design was really outdated.

If you are not sure of what services Primeware offers, check out our About and Services page. In short, we are a Web Design and Web Development firm in Cleveland, Ohio. We provide websites of all shapes and sizes. We also do custom development for websites if that is what you are looking for. Some other services include Web Hosting and Site Maintenance plus any marketing materials you may need to get a nice branding for your business.

Be on the look out for more blog entries in the future. We will post about anything that is happening in the company. Look for latest news, new portfolio pieces, and articles on web design. Don't be surprised if there is a random rant post in there somewhere.