Stop struggling with creating quality XHTML/CSS!

In the process of developing a web site, converting web-page design to XHTML markup can be quite a time-consuming and sometimes even challenging task. Nowadays, clients constantly require improvements in quality in every aspect of their projects. More and more customers not only demand aesthetic design, but also request page codes to comply with W3C standards.

To code a web page, many developers are still using table, Dreamweaver or other tools to carry out the page layout. However, using table has some shortcomings, for instance, the data format can mix with the content, which makes the size of the page grow bigger and bigger. If you are visiting a page, you are first required to download the format of this information. This results in a lot of bandwidth wastage. Redesigning a site takes a lot of labor. This also makes us maintain the visual consistency of the entire site with great difficulty. A better approach is to use DIV + CSS layout, as it greatly decreases the page codes, increases the speed of page viewing, and reduces bandwidth cost. The clear structure makes it easy to be captivated by search engines that naturally improve SEO. It also shortens the repair time as a few simple changes on the CSS document can cause the same effects to dozens of pages of a design on the site, not to speak of better control of page layout. Table has little flexibility in the layout; you can only follow the table TR, TD format. But you can use DIV + UL + LI, OL + LI as well as UL + LI. Also the fonts of the page become more diversified and easier to rearrange so that the page is really pleasing to look at. The design for your web browser can be released in other devices, such as PowerPoint. In the table layout, the codes will be a lot of garbage, and some modified codes and the layout of codes mixed together. The DIV+CSS pattern reflects the phase separation and remodels the structure. It can be used in almost all browsers and is easier for search engines to collect.

However, it is a bit difficult to use the DIV + CSS for page design. In order to grasp CSS well, you must understand the display differences between the browsers. As for the beginner, it is much tougher to master these skills than to use the tool for page design. Communication with customers and the designing of pages probably are the most important activities in all web projects, and tasks like page coding are very suitable for outsourcing. But for such work, coding habits and timeframe requirements are important considerations.

Recently when surfing the Internet, we found an internet company called Web Outsourcing Services Group, which provides clients with page coding services at a good price, for it is based in China. Many customers in the United States use their services, and the time-zone difference can be used to improve development efficiency. Just as the company's publicity says, by using their services, customers in the United States really can bring their designs to life overnight. That is, a team in the United States can outsource their work to Web Outsourcing Services Group in the evening, and the Web Outsourcing Services Group team will follow the designs to produce the pages, so the team in the United States can get these pages for the next phase of the project.



With the development of outsourcing services, some small and tough work can be outsourced to professional providers to complete in a faster, better and cheaper way. It is reasonable to take advantage of these services, and this is definitely helpful in enhancing competitiveness in the local market.

Making your web site design work for you...

A well-planned web site design, in partnership with other marketing activities, has the potential to produce highly qualified sales leads, increase your sales, increase staff effectiveness, reduce costs in the long run, and more.

What do you want your web site to do? All over the world, small business owners are spending thousands of dollars on building and maintaining web sites without being able to answer this big question!

Creating a web site without a marketing strategy can be an expensive and time-consuming mistake. Remember, if you want your web site to attract traffic and, more importantly, sales, your web site must be DESIGNED to accomplish these goals.

It is just as important to brand your business on-line as it is off-line. Branding is about getting your customers to see you as the only solution to their problem. It is important to establish your niche, and if you don't get them on the home page, you don't get them at all.

To create a quality web site from a marketing point of view, it must be search engine friendly. What that means is that all your meta tags, alt tags, descriptions, headings, keywords, and titles are in place. It means your code is clean, you don't have a lot of bells and whistles, very little to no flash, and limited graphics. Keeping it simple, keeping it stupid. In addition, your content must be constructed with specific criteria in mind.

Graphic design as your "silent salesperson"...

Graphic Design helps reinforce your visual message to your current and potential clients and/or customers. It acts as your "silent salesperson" and helps keep your business, whether on-line or a physical building, at the top of people's minds � top-of-mind awareness.

It takes 7-9 impressions before a client/customer will act on the message they are receiving. Therefore, graphic design helps build and maintain people's awareness of your business with a visual "silent salesperson."

Thomas Smith of London wrote the following in l885.

1. The first time a man looks at an advertisement,
   he does not see it.
2. The second time, he does not notice it.
3. The third time, he is conscious of its existence.
4. The fourth time, he faintly remembers having seen it before.
5. The fifth time, he reads it.
6. The sixth time, he turns up his nose at it.
7. The seventh time, he reads it through and says, 'Oh brother!'
8. The eighth time, he says, 'Here's that confounded thing again!'
9. The ninth time, he wonders if it amounts to anything.
10. The tenth time, he asks his neighbor if he has tried it.
11. The eleventh time, he wonders how the advertiser makes it pay.
12. The twelfth time, he thinks it must be a good thing.
13. The thirteenth time, he thinks perhaps it might
    be worth something.
14. The fourteenth time, he remembers wanting such a
    thing a long time.
15. The fifteenth time, he is tantalized because he cannot
    afford to buy it.
16. The sixteenth time, he thinks he will buy it some day.
17. The seventeenth time, he makes a memorandum to buy it.
18. The eighteenth time, he swears at his poverty.
19. The nineteenth time, he counts his money carefully.
20. The twentieth time he sees the ad, he buys what it is offering.

Planning a graphic design strategy is extremely necessary for your business. By creating the right visual theme to carry across all media, it is easier get your message to your target market(s) and is a factor in determining if your business will succeed or fail. It used to be that a new business could throw up a sign and shout, "I'm open for business."

Today, it is more complicated and with the Internet, more competitive. Now, people ask: "What can you do for me and why are you better than someone else?" By having a strategic graphic message that incorporates appropriate images and color psychology, you have a better chance of staying at the top of people's minds and having a successful business.

Think of "Big Blue" - IBM, McDonald's red and yellow and the golden arches, Coca Cola's red & White, Pepsi's red, white & blue, Adobe's black and red and the apple....no matter the business, colors and images are an important part of their brand. Without them, they would not have built their brand and they would not be at the top of people's minds.

Combine all the elements into a comprehensive marketing design strategy and you have a successful business.