With the rapid surge in the sale of mobile phones and hand-held devices like the iphone worldwide, there is no doubt that mobile web design will going to be the next big thing. Mobile Web access today still suffers from interoperability and usability problems. This is partly due to the fact that there are no mobile standards for the web, there are many different web applications created that are not supportive of current web codes. Website designer should take into consideration the limitation of small physical size of the screens of mobile devices when doing mobile website design.

The Mobile Web Initiative was created to help create standards for mobile web to create mobile-friendly content and applications for mobile devices. With new devices and technology that makes web surfing less painful, people will be more and more connected away from their computers and onto their mobile phones. Mobile devices enable access to information, any time and anywhere there is cell phone coverage. By having access to information that is not restricted to a desk or search for a nearby WiFi hotspot, people can quickly retrieve and exchange information.

According to Juniper Research there will be 1.7 billion mobile web users by 2013. With the potential growth of mobile web users, it has become a great source of new revenue streams for businesses. Traditional websites design for the PC or laptop will not work properly for mobile phones and will lose a big section of your audience because they cannot access your website, or faces difficulty while browsing important sections of your site because it is not design mobile friendly. It is imperative to have a mobile web version of your website, so that you can take advantage of the significant proportion of the mobile market and not be left behind by your competitors.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Web site credibility is crucial to all web businesses since it builds trust for customers. Nobody is going to buy products or services from a company that does not seem credible. To build credibility, trust needs to be built between the customer and owner.

Ways to build credibility:

• About Us
  Businesses need to understand that not all visitors will know about their company and what they do. Having an About Us page will help customers understand more about the company and help provide an organized feel to the company.
• Contact Information
  Having a Contact Us page would make a site more authentic if people can see there is a way to get a hold of you. Users tend to think that websites that do not provide contact information have something to hide and may be untrustworthy.
• Privacy Policy
  Any business website that takes or requires users to enter private information should have an online privacy policy page. Ecommerce websites that takes credit cards have to ensure that credit card information is protected and safe. Many customers are reluctant to providing personal information on the web and so to prevent many of these concerns, providing a privacy policy would help ensure customers information are safeguarded.
• Testimonials
  Testimonials are statements from happy customers saying how your product or service helped them. When done correctly, testimonials can be a strong ally in establishing the credibility of a website. An article on Webcredible provides a few tips on getting started.
• Professionalism
  One of the most important factors for credibility is website design since that is the first thing someone looks at when entering a website. Owners that put little thought into the design of a website are unprofessional and turn users away. Professional business website design will create a sense of trust that the site belongs to a credible company.

Internet credibility is one of the most critical factors that will affect online success. Being credible is simply the perception of being trustworthy and believable. Everything you do will affect the image of your business. Being focused on providing solutions to your customers, providing consistent quality and value, and being accessible will all help you achieve the credibility your online business needs to succeed.

Popularity: 56% [?]

Have you considered the importance of color in your website design? There is a powerful visual emotional effect caused by color. The dominant color you select for your logo, or business web design sends an emotional message to your target audience. First impressions are lasting impressions and color is the sizzle that captures attention.

According to the Institute for Color Research, people quickly make a subconscious judgment about an item and 62% and 90% of that assessment is based on color alone. Judgments are based on human instincts and cultural influences and powerfully communicate.

What each color communicates
Black: Elegance, formality, mystery, death and style.
Blue: Stability, professionalism, trust, peace and coolness.
Brown: Endurance, casual, earthy, poverty and tradition.
Gray: Conservatism, seriousness and enhances messages of other colors.
Green: Safety, harmony, freshness, nature and wealth.
Orange: Enthusiasm, cheerfulness, creativity, playfulness and heat.
Pink: Hot pink: energy, youthfulness, fun and excitement… lighter pinks: sentimental, romantic.
Purple: Power, nobility, magic, sensuality and spirituality.
Red: Boldness, excitement, desire, intensity, and love.
Silver: Prestige, cold, scientific.
White: Cleanliness, purity, simplicity, peace and innocence.
Yellow: Attention-grabbing, happiness, energy, joy and optimism.

In general, red, orange, and yellow are exciting colors while purple, blue and green are calming ones. Yellow is the most visible color. Black on yellow or green on white are the most legible combination.

Many fast food restaurants are decorated with vivid reds and oranges. Studies show that these colors encourage diners to eat quickly and leave.

Combining colors in various combination creates even different psychological effect. No color stands alone. Color is seen in the context of a symphony of other colors. No one color is “good” or “bad”. Colors create a composition that as a whole is pleasing or not. Now color is not the only design element to communicate with, but it is a powerful one.

Are you selecting a web design firm? A quick look at their website portfolio will tell you their skill in choosing color the right color combination.

Popularity: 29% [?]

Proper graphic design involves more than just designing a cool-looking logo - there are quite a few things to consider when selecting color choice for your business identity, deciding on a design for web, composing a logo, or creating a business card.

Graphic design is essential in nearly every part of a business, and must be adequately addressed for a company to be successful. Let’s look at some individual parts of a business that deserve attention to their graphic design:

Company Branding
The entire branding for a company needs to be planned out. While designed initially for one aspect of the business, what if you need to shrink the logo down to a smaller size; will it still convey the same emotion as originally planned? Are you portraying the right image by your color choice? Does cApItAlIzAtIoN matter with your choice in logo?

Web Presence
The design of a website needs to match the logo in style to make sense. In accordance, colors need to be selected that work well with the overall feel, and the website needs to be designed in a way that matches the company objective. There’s a big difference in graphic design for one type of business website as opposed to another in a different industry.

Business Card Layout & Design
Your business card can be that lasting image for a client; think of your business card as something that should be kept, not tossed away. The style needs to stand out, be unique, and be able to express the kind of industry you are in. The graphic design of this logo, as well as the original company branding itself, plays a vital role in this objective.

While at first glance it doesn’t seem like graphic design plays a big role in a business, as you can read from the examples above, it touches nearly every aspect and decisions made about one part can quite oftentimes affect another.

Don’t neglect graphic design, see what a proven, professional graphic design company can do for you!

Popularity: 26% [?]