Wiliam Blog Online Design Web Development | Wiliam Web Design Sydney Australia

As you may know the majority of online readers scan content for relevant information rather than reading line by line. This is why typographic contrast and flow are essential in web design.

tags: Web Design

Google and Me

Edwin Antonian | 20/12/2011

It's been a long year and I've been lucky enough to work on some great website design projects. These designs have ranged from large group buying websites to policy and advocacy sites.

tags: Web Design

The Evolution of Web Design

Natalie El-Roueihib | 19/12/2011

Since the dawn of time, man has been on a mission. A mission to eat, a mission to work, a mission to build, and a mission to… surf.

tags: Web Design

The Wiliam Internet Quiz: The Last of 2011

Robert Beerworth | 13/12/2011

Test how much you really know…

tags: Web Design

Designer

Edwin Antonian | 13/12/2011

This is a common scenario faced when telling someone what you do for a job. The idea that you can make a living designing and laying out websites is a concept out of reach for some.

tags: Web Design

Switch ON

Joe Smith | 12/12/2011

If you design for web, you’re a web designer. Full stop.

tags: Web Design

It is so difficult for a designer to view a completed project 2 months down the track. We often question our judgements; things that seemed sufficient or good enough with the limited time/budget/resources now look dated and generic.

tags: Web Design

Big may be beautiful after all

Jessica Kriklewicz | 22/11/2011

Small footers are a thing of the past, these days we are making way for the MEGA footer.

tags: Web Design

Responsive Design

Eddie Gallagher | 22/11/2011

From mobile browsers to Netbooks and tablets, users are visiting your sites from an increasing array of devices and browsers. Increasingly web designers have to think beyond the limitations of the desktop and deliver sites that are able to adapt gracefully to whatever media is being used to view it.

tags: Web Design

What makes a website’s design a good design?

Edwin Antonian | 16/11/2011

A good website design should guide the user through the journey via graphical indicators. As with the green traffic light man telling us when to walk, graphical indicators should become the language between a user and the website interface they're utilising. This will enable a smooth journey.

tags: Web Design

Give it to me in 65 characters or less.

Jessica Lane | 28/10/2011

Some people just talk too much. Spewing out information like middle aged women at a mothers meet luncheon. It’s annoying and un-necessary. This can also be said for information and articles on the web. Gobs and gobs of text being smashed on your screen and frustrating the hell out of your eyes; they dart and sprawl all over the page looking for the best place to begin the reading battle.

tags: Web Design

All sites should be designed as mobile sites

Edwin Antonian | 28/10/2011

In an age of information overload, adopting a minimalist or Less is More approach is key.

tags: Mobile Web , Web Design

Whatever it is, make it a story so I understand.

Joe Smith | 20/10/2011

The Wiliam team are working on an exciting new website project. It’s a website for a business looking to attract investors. Said business has a unique product and delivers a necessary service. There is a mountain of data, figures, facts, stats that identifies this business as a great investment opportunity.

tags: Web Design , Web Strategy

Designer First, C.E.O. Second

Edwin Antonian | 10/10/2011

Came across a great article on NY times today which explained why Apple is such a great force in the product design field. I don't think there is another company out there that has such unity amongst its product range, this even extends into its marketing material.Everything is controlled. Nothing is overlooked. I'm talking aesthetics here, not the functionality of their OS.

tags: Web Design

Real World vs Online

Joe Smith | 6/10/2011

I don’t really understand the business of manufacturing and selling and I don’t want to. I’m a guy who likes to buy sports coats, pizza, cool plastic robots, shoes and electronic gadgets. I really like the experience of buying those things and it’s my experience as a consumer that I expect retailers to obsess over – not online vs. offline.

tags: Web Design , User Experience

Bubble or Square?

Jessica Kriklewicz | 5/10/2011

As designers, much of our work involves helping and making it easier for users to make sense of the information in front of them. One way we do this is by using rounded corners within a design. Rounded corners are more appealing than their counterparts because they are kinder on the eye.

tags: Web Design

BBC rationalises its redesign

Leo Romano | 29/09/2011

The new BBC homepage design is good, though better is its rationalisation and process for achieving it.

tags: Web Design

Responsive design, documenting a live project

Edwin Antonian | 21/09/2011

Designing and developing a website to be compatible with several different browsers has long been a headache for designers and web developers. Now it's not just a variety of browsers that need to be considered; smart phones, iPads and a variety of screen resolutions must also be taken into account. In fact, the majority of clients now ask for a mobile version of their website to be developed.

tags: Web Design

Contemporary Web Design 101

Stuart Horton-Stephens | 15/09/2011

‘Design’, be it web, fashion, print, industrial or otherwise, as a practice is a fickle business. Based on the subjective eye of the creator and ultimately the viewer, design is an ever evolving aspect which is hard to control and even harder to let wander by itself. Trends come and go, designers pick up on them and go with the designer flow. And alot of them keep going until the style is all but used up and ‘so last year’.

tags: Web Design

A lesson learned for each year at Wiliam

Adam Tedeschi | 7/09/2011

As the soon to be departing Creative Director of Australia’s best Web Development Company I have had the pleasure over these 5 years of witnessing some impressive achievements, milestones and successes. The achievements are evident in the many sites Wiliam has launched. Big brand sites like Dan Murphy’s and Dick Smith, the explosive success of Cudo (built and launched in 6 weeks), the recent Choosi.com.au, Australia’s biggest grass roots political site GetUp.org.au and fund raisers like the NBCF are all stand outs. There were though, of course, some lessoned learned (and they are much more interesting to write about it) Here are just five of them.

tags: Web Design , Web Strategy

Building Sites for Tablets

Leo Romano | 5/09/2011

The release of the iPad in April 2010 brought about a revolution for those who wanted to browse the web on the go. A couple of years later and the tablet market is well and truly established, with sales topping 20 million in 2010 alone and expected to quadruple by 2012. This has posed a challenge for corporations, business and web design firms alike, having to ensure websites looked equally good on a full size computer screen as well as on a potentially much smaller tablet.

tags: Web Design , Online Trends , Mobile Web

What makes rounded corners more attractive than sharp edges?

Bess Batterham | 5/09/2011

Rounded corners are more aesthetically appealing than jagged edges to everyone, but these days most people don’t even think twice about why this might be so. Designers use rounded corners so often that they are more of an industry standard than a design trend. They’re not only being used on user interfaces, but hardware product designs as well.

tags: Web Design , Online Trends

Effective Calls to Action

Eddie Gallagher | 2/08/2011

As a website owner you cannot afford your customers not to take action on your offers or promotions. There is only the present moment. If your web site does not convince someone to convert right now, it is highly doubtful that it ever will.

tags: Web Design , Web Strategy

Coming soon to a computer near you

Adam Tedeschi | 2/08/2011

A good Coming Soon page can be done at hardly any expense and can in fact be a very powerful way to build momentum for when your brilliant new website does go live.

tags: Web Design , Web Strategy

Designing websites for young people

Stuart Horton-Stephens | 28/07/2011

At my house we have a computer which is usually taken over by my 6 and 9 year old children. And don’t think they are using Microsoft paint to tirelessly waste away their youth, no! These kids, and all their school friends, are spending time on hugely rich web experiences from interactive games through to social networking sites all geared towards their age group

tags: Usability , Web Design

Trends in Web Design: Horizontal and Vertical Parallax

Stuart Horton-Stephens | 11/07/2011

In the past few years across the web we have seen a shift towards using parallax, mostly vertical uses. This is basically a way in which a website feels like its the one single page, with multiple layers to give it a three dimensional slant.

tags: Web Design , Online Trends

The Paradox of Choice

Mike Hall | 11/07/2011

Research has shown that if presented with too much choice, users are likely to not choose anything at all. Information overload has long been blamed for the inability of users to make a decision.

tags: Web Strategy , Web Design

Image animation performance HTML 5 canvas vs HTML 4

Mark Greenwood | 4/07/2011

In a recent project I had to animate a lot of images simultaneously (up to 700) and went looking for the best solution: HTML 5 + canvas or HTML 4 + css. It wasn't that easy to find anything on canvas and I soon found out why.

tags: Technology , Web Development , Web Design

Why optimising your website and making it mobile friendly is the way forward

Leo Romano | 14/06/2011

As the trend goes, making your website readily available for mobile browsing can mean gains with the ever growing crowd of mobile surfers.

tags: Web Development , Web Design , Technology , Online Trends , Mobile Technology

5 Reasons I Bail from a Website

Kriska Aviola | 10/06/2011

A few resons that would make users bail a website.

tags: Web Design , Web Development , Web Strategy , User Experience

Launching getawaylounge.com.au

Natalie Ashes | 7/06/2011

Getaway lounge has officially launched last week. This exclusive travel deals site distinguishes itself from the other deal sites flooding the market as it focuses solely on travel deals.

tags: Technology , Web Design , Web Development , Business

Designing and Developing with Grids

Edwin Antonian | 19/05/2011

One thing that is always an issue when designing websites is the column widths. Widths tend to change from page to page within a PSD file and when you're trying to design quickly they can tend to be overlooked.

tags: Web Design

Designing sign up forms

Stuart Horton-Stephens | 18/05/2011

How many sign up forms do you get to and feel the need to close the window?

tags: Web Design , Web Development

Does the design matter?

Adam Tedeschi | 18/05/2011

I recently found a youtube video that asked a series of internet users "Does the quality of an organisation's Web site impact your perception of that organisation?”

tags: Web Design , Web Development

The Wonder of HTML5

Andrew O'Sullivan | 13/05/2011

Mozilla's Web O' Wonder shows off some of the amazing things that can be done with HTML5.

tags: Web Design , CSS , Online Trends , User Experience , Mobile Web

Launching www.genbook.com

Robert Beerworth | 15/04/2011

A great example of a modern, conversion-focused website with great content.

tags: Web Design , Web Strategy

Understanding who is paying the bills

Stuart Horton-Stephens | 25/03/2011

There is an old ‘agency world’ saying: ‘There’s no such thing as the perfect client so you may as well just get used to them’.

tags: Web Development , Web Design

Transaction reference numbers increase usability

Queron Jephcott | 23/03/2011

I titled this blog so blatantly because it sounds like an oxymoron. A huge alphanumeric jumble of characters and the notion of increasing the usability of a web site doesn’t sound right.

tags: Information Architecture , Web Design , Usability

Things to remember when you’re starting again

Daniel Wright | 11/03/2011

It’s one of the immutable laws of the internet, eventually you will need to rebuild your website.

tags: Web Design , Web Development

What does your website look like to Facebook?

Andrew O'Sullivan | 10/03/2011

A handy tool lets you preview how your website will look when someone Likes or Shares it on Facebook.

tags: Online Trends , Facebook , Web Design , Tips & Tricks

Cross-browser Testing

Andrew O'Sullivan | 2/03/2011

Cross-browser testing remains a reality to ensure your audience enjoys a consistent experience.

tags: Web Design , Web Development , Usability

Where do form buttons belong?

Queron Jephcott | 2/03/2011

We recently had some discussion regarding where button belong at the bottom of forms. If you don’t have time to read this whole post, here’s the quick answer: There isn’t one.

tags: Information Architecture , Web Design

Can You Even Make A Good HTML Form Anymore?

| 21/02/2011

HTML forms have always been a secret little enjoyment of mine. While many user interface designers die a little inside every time they have to turn 300 questions into a simple two-step online form, I relish the opportunity.

tags: Information Architecture , Web Design

Form AFTER Function

Stuart Horton-Stephens | 7/02/2011

There are many aspects of web design, and believe it or not its not really about ‘making things look pretty.’

tags: Web Design , Web Development

What you need from your web design company

| 7/02/2011

Picking the right design / development company is essential to ensuring quality work is delivered.

tags: Web Development , Web Design

User Centred Design vs Usability Testing

Peter Moloney | 7/02/2011

Usability experts in the past have argued that usability testing must be built into the design process and conducted at multiple points throughout the development cycle.

tags: Web Design , Web Development

Optimisation tactics for 2011

Robert Beerworth | 3/02/2011

The more personalised you are, the better you are…

tags: Web Design , Web Strategy

How Hi is Lofi

| 28/01/2011

As prototyping tools such as Axure increase in features, our prototypes are becoming more and more complicated.

tags: Web Design , Information Architecture

Usability Heuristics

Mike Hall | 13/01/2011

Usability heuristics are ‘rules of thumb’ which are used to guide design decisions when designing a new site or application.

tags: Web Design , Web Strategy

Web Widget Best Practices

Peter Moloney | 13/01/2011

As with information architecture for standard web pages, designing the user experience for web widgets and iPhone apps is a similar process, but with the key difference being the size of the area you have to work in.

tags: Web Design , Information Architecture

Design Fundamentals

Stuart Horton-Stephens | 12/01/2011

There are alot of designers and design theorists out there writing about good and bad design, usability and conformity, colour theories and so on. And so on. And designers should read these articles, even if its rehashed, there is always a point being made. So here is a rough breakdown of some of those points....

tags: Web Design

You can’t move from your web developer

Robert Beerworth | 10/01/2011

Try as you might, think what you like, you're stuck with your web developer.

tags: Web Design , Web Strategy

The rise of the mobile internet

| 7/01/2011

Look up next time your on the train/bus and just see the number of people interacting with their mobile phones and hardly anyone reading the traditional print media.

tags: Web Design , Web Development , Technology

What makes a successful landing page?

Eddie Gallagher | 7/01/2011

Where will the users go when they click the ad? Your current homepage seems like the ideal place, right? Getting them there, that’s the goal, isn’t it?

tags: Web Development , Web Design

Writing real proper for e-commerce

Stuart Horton-Stephens | 4/01/2011

Setting up an e-commerce site in order to sell your product seems like an easy thing to do in theory, but the practical application involves alot of detail which can make or break it.

tags: e-commerce , Web Design , Tips & Tricks

Wiliam’s 2010 Christmas T-Shirt

Robert Beerworth | 17/12/2010

Unveiling 2010 T-Shirt…

tags: Web Design

Good Load Testing Tools

Robert Beerworth | 16/12/2010

The bigger your website and the more users it expects, the more important the load testing to make sure it can live up to its expectations.

tags: Web Design , Web Strategy

World’s best landing page

Robert Beerworth | 8/12/2010

What does it take to be voted world’s best landing page?

tags: Web Design , Web Strategy

Making Good Decisions

Paul Langtry | 6/12/2010

Last week the Wiliam blog looked at making good decisions regarding website construction. The key relationship in this dynamic is between the client driver (usually a marketing employee) and the Producer.

tags: Web Design

A Web Producer at Wiliam?

Robert Beerworth | 25/11/2010

"It was the best of times, it was the ‘blurst’ of times"?! (Simpsons Episode “Last Exit to Springfield” (1993)… If that quote from the Simpsons any sense to you, you’ll understand the paradigm of being a Web Producer.

tags: Web Design

Becoming the web design Joneses.

Stuart Horton-Stephens | 15/11/2010

So you’ve met with the client, discussed all possibilities of what their website can do, what they want it to do and why their online audience would want that.

tags: Web Development , Web Design

aroundyou.com.au

Robert Beerworth | 12/11/2010

What’s going on around you? Aroundyou.com.au knows.

tags: Web Design

The power of strong visual design combined with usability

Eddie Gallagher | 19/10/2010

The difference between online success and failure is rather fine. This article explores the brilliant case study of Mint VS Wesabe and how one managed to outsmart the other through strong web design and a usability focus.

tags: Web Design , Usability

Treat your online audience with respect

Stuart Horton-Stephens | 19/10/2010

Your website says alot about you and your business on the world wide web. Whether you are selling ugg boots or accounting software, or simply writing a personal blog on handgliding, your audience deserves decent web content and information.

tags: Web Design , Common Sense

Clever content management

Adam Tedeschi | 19/10/2010

Good web designers understand content management. It is the difference between a good website and a great website. The age old cliche of content is king rings true.

tags: Common Sense , Web Design , Management

Can your visitors really see your page?

Robert Beerworth | 19/10/2010

In this age of high-resolution monitors – for designing and viewing websites – surely we have more room to design? Not yet.

tags: Web Design , Usability

What is a website?

Daniel Wright | 19/10/2010

It sounds like a ridiculously simple question and yet I find myself regularly surprised by the number of times someone will not understand the potential of the web to address their business needs. If that really is true, then I think there’s definitely some value in revisiting what exactly a website is.

tags: Web Design , Web Development , Common Sense

Design your content and design it well

Stuart Horton-Stephens | 17/09/2010

One of the most common myths in today’s generation of web designers and developers is the fact that the Homepage of a website is the most important, therefore should be catered for accordingly. However, recent statistics reveal quite the opposite.

tags: Web Design , Online Trends

The 5 year overhaul - web design & SEO

Alex Wilson | 3/09/2010

The five year overhaul. We look at an existing client who we have worked with for many years. Now he has a proven model that works the exciting work begins - refining for higher conversion.

tags: Web Design

Introducing Cudo.com.au - PBL’s latest online property

Alex Wilson | 1/09/2010

Wiliam are excited to announce the launch of PBL Media’s latest online property, Cudo.com.au

tags: Online Trends , Web Design

Designing User journeys

Mike Hall | 14/07/2010

Users don't browse Information Architecture. They take journeys through websites. Delivering users as quickly and enjoyably to their destination on your website is best facilitated by designing key User Journeys.

tags: Web Design , User Experience , Website Accessibility

I’ve got a great idea for a website (or how to tell if your idea really is great)

Daniel Wright | 10/06/2010

It’s the phrase we hear more than almost any other in the web industry. “I’ve got a great idea for a website”. ....

tags: Web Design

The Design Fashionista

Stuart Horton-Stephens | 4/06/2010

As designers we are expected to dress, talk and act in a particular way. Apparently. History tells us that to stand tall amongst the common people, designers (be they online, print or otherwise) we must don skivvies, scarves and black horn rimmed glasses..

tags: Web Design

Jamming more things on your website doesn’t automatically make it better

Daniel Wright | 21/05/2010

The web changes and it can change quite quickly. In this heady and fast-paced environment it’s often very tempting to add every new trendy tool as soon as you possibly can.

tags: Web Design

Great design is about much more than great looks

Daniel Wright | 7/05/2010

Of all the various facets of web development, most people feel comfortable and confident when dealing with the design. After all, it’s not that hard to tell if a proposed design has followed the established brand guidelines and hit the mark aesthetically.

tags: Web Design

Link baiting your way to tedium, formulaic blogs and why you should avoid them

Eddie Gallagher | 7/05/2010

For the most part, it’s still possible to find these types of blogs, and they are cherished, not only for their insightful intelligent takes on our industry but for the simple fact that they are in the minority – and it would seem, a dying breed.

tags: SEO , Web Design

Legal websites from a NSW perspective

| 7/05/2010

Many legal websites are unreliable. Below are listed three websites that have reliable information, but also have other positives and negatives for the Australian (NSW) user.

tags: Web Design

5 reasons not to buy your website from a telegraph pole

Adam Tedeschi | 3/05/2010

Last week I was walking through Surry Hills when I saw a sign on a telegraph pole stating “Professional websites from $599”..

tags: Web Design

Web 2.0 Design? Say what?

Stuart Horton-Stephens | 23/04/2010

We, as designers, have all experienced the client meet up when they request their site to look more ‘Web 2.0’.

tags: Web Design

Jive TV has officially launched!

Alex Wilson | 15/04/2010

A new Wiliam project launch. A concise and great looking TV guide for Australia.

tags: Web Design

Developers, Developers, Developers

Stuart Horton-Stephens | 11/03/2010

In alot of web agencies there is a ‘larger than there ought to be’ gap in communication between developers and designers. Its something that has been happening since the dawn of web time when only Frontpage Express ruled the earth.

tags: Web Development , Web Design

Who cares about your logo

Adam Tedeschi | 11/03/2010

Name a purely online company whose logo you can actually recall? eBay maybe? But then they have external exposure as well. A professionally designed logo is not equal to a good website.

tags: Web Design

Focus on success with your website

Daniel Wright | 24/02/2010

Good web design and development can be a significant investment.

tags: Web Design

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Adam Tedeschi | 5/02/2010

A look at graphics on the web that can do more damage to your business than you thought.

tags: Web Design

Keep track of your inspiration

Stuart Horton-Stephens | 5/02/2010

Elephants have an amazing memory. I am not an elephant and need help recalling where I saw my inspiration.

tags: Web Design

Why you don’t need ‘Brand Guidelines’

Adam Tedeschi | 13/01/2010

Some agencies, designers or marketers will suggest you then get some ‘brand guidelines’, specifically visual guide lines - be careful though.

tags: Web Design

Web Typography - Change at last

Eddie Gallagher | 12/01/2010

Good typography has always been one of the most frustrating aspects of web design. As a designer, our typographic palette is generally limited to a handful of serif /sans-serif cross platform fonts.

tags: Web Design

The power of colour

Mike Hall | 23/12/2009

Colour has an amazing emotional and psychological effect on us all.

tags: Web Design

What makes a good web strategy?

Adam Tedeschi | 23/12/2009

Building a website is not the same as a web strategy.

tags: Web Design

What are your top websites for 2009?

Daniel Wright | 14/12/2009

We’ve seen a lot of changes and innovation in the last twelve months and it’s that time of year when we take a look back at what’s made the biggest difference.

tags: Web Design , Online Trends

12 Days of Christmas in Web Design and Development

Daniel Wright | 14/12/2009

Here at Wiliam we’re blessed with great clients and really interesting projects. It’s made 2009 challenging and exciting year for all of us.

tags: Web Development , Web Design

Forgettable web design

Mike Hall | 10/12/2009

The human brain is not optimized for the abstract thinking and data memorization that websites often demand. Many usability guidelines are dictated by cognitive limitations.

tags: User Experience , Web Design

You should learn to increase your click through rate – now

Alex Wilson | 9/12/2009

The wording I have used for the title of this piece has probably increased its CTR and read rate by nearly 5% - simply because I told you to read it, now.

tags: Web Design

Fundamental Design Basics

Stuart Horton-Stephens | 1/12/2009

We all understand that there is good design and there is great design, and of course awful design. But we try not to ponder on that one for too long. In order to keep up with great design Ive compiled a list of fundamental basics which ‘should’ be adhered to.

tags: Web Design

Simplify your ideas

Daniel Wright | 1/12/2009

Sometimes it’s really easy to get carried away with the possibilities of the web and to want to include every new technology in a website.

tags: Web Design

Custom Builds require Custom Maintenance

Daniel Wright | 17/11/2009

Like most technologically driven industries, the web is full of projects that are quickly overtaken by new innovations and new opportunities for performance gains.

tags: Web Design , Web Development

Tips for preparing a website brief

Daniel Nelson | 17/11/2009

Briefing documents are important but they don’t have to be a nightmare! Consider these key points when creating your website brief and to get your next website project off to a good start!

tags: Web Design , Management

Your new site looks beautiful – now what?

Hamish Stead | 16/11/2009

A new website is an exciting process for most companies as they often treat it as an opportunity to rebrand themselves. Even if the logo remains the same, a good website design can reposition a company in the market for the better. Appearance and branding are vital considerations.

tags: Web Design

Web Designers Creative Block

Stuart Horton-Stephens | 16/11/2009

Artists, be they writers, painters, sculptors or web designers all suffer from a mental creative block at some stage during their process.

tags: Web Design

You’re in IT, can you work from home?

Benjamin Tinker | 12/11/2009

When telling people I work in IT they usually follow up with 'that must be good, because you can work from any where'.

tags: Technology , Web Design , Web Design

You’re in IT, can you work from home?

Benjamin Tinker | 12/11/2009

When telling people I work in IT they usually follow up with 'that must be good, because you can work from any where'.

tags: Technology , Web Design , Web Design

Your website is bad and you should feel bad

Simon Miller | 12/11/2009

There are countless millions of websites on the Internet and most of them are varying degrees of bad. Many are not so bad. A few are really quite something special.

tags: Online Trends , Web Design

Reading speed online – getting your message through

Daniel Nelson | 5/11/2009

Studies have shown that reading speed online is slower by 10-30% than reading speeds obtained offline.

tags: Web Design

Writing content for the web

Mike Hall | 5/11/2009

Writing for the web is very different from writing for print or other medias and needs to be treated differently accordingly.

tags: Web Design

The use of colour on the web

Stuart Horton-Stephens | 2/11/2009

A look at the fundamental and obvious rules / patterns when it comes to colour and web design. Like design 'templates' on the web, colour 'templates' also play an important role.

tags: Web Design

The use of colour online

Mike Hall | 28/10/2009

The importance of the use of colour on the web is often overlooked. Colour plays a vital role in conveying both information and feeling. The colours used in a website design can either make or break a website design.

tags: Web Design , Web Marketing , User Experience , Usability

Methods of contact on a website

Solaris Ataya | 28/10/2009

It is a given that your website will have some means of contact within it, whether it be phone numbers, contact forms, live chatting or a mailing address – the question however is what method is the best for your users and what are the options available.

tags: Web Design

Five website design mistakes that are easily avoided

Adam Tedeschi | 6/10/2009

Building your website isn’t as simple as finding a graphic designer and give them your logo… common sense and good planning are the cornerstones of successful websites – then you introduce the creativity!

tags: Web Design , Tips & Tricks , Information Architecture , User Experience

Your templates are killing the internet

Daniel Wright | 28/09/2009

It it the templated nature that is threatening to destroy the innovation that has been at the heart of web development since its inception.

tags: Web Design , Issues

Effective and Efficient Project Management

Solaris Ataya | 25/09/2009

Risks are inherent in any size web project, no matter how well prepared you think you are.

tags: Management , Web Design

Producing Effective Menus

Mike Hall | 21/09/2009

When designing a website it is important to try to provide as much visual support and context as possible to help orient users and to minimize the disruptive effects of jumping from one place to another whilst trying to find something.

tags: Web Design , SEO , Usability , Tips & Tricks

Where Does Your Website Lead Users?

Daniel Wright | 14/09/2009

It’s a little understood fact but every website leads its users somewhere. Unfortunately because of this lack of understanding, many websites accidentally lead users to search for another website.

tags: Web Design , Usability , Information Architecture

iPhone Pages - Make Your Mobile Website

Simon Miller | 10/09/2009

So you have engaged your web development company to design and build you your new corporate identity but have you considered how your site will look and function on a mobile device such as the iPhone, Android or a BlackBerry?

tags: iphone , Business , Web Design , Web Development , Online Trends , Mobile Web

Links Scents

Mike Hall | 8/09/2009

When trying to accomplish their site goals, users tend to follow a "scent" and when they lose the scent, they fall into unpredictable behaviours, such as randomly clicking on links or hitting the back button.

tags: Web Design , Usability , User Testing

Designing Effective Forms

Mike Hall | 8/09/2009

Filling in forms is one of the more complex interactions undertaken by users online and if you want a good completion rate, you have to design forms which are easy to fill in and don’t turn users away.

tags: Web Design

Top 4 SEO-Friendly Web Design Tips

Patrick Wong | 28/08/2009

Websites are primarily designed to be attractive to your target audience but don't forget it must also be attractive for search engines too. Here are some things to consider when designing your a website to be SEO-friendly.

tags: Web Design , SEO , SEO Sydney , SEO Sydney

Budget Or No Budget

Daniel Nelson | 19/08/2009

In the web design game client regularly are in two minds as you whether to provide their tendering agencies with any indications of their budget. The logic falls into two camps: supply or don't supply a budget. We take a look at some pros and cons of these two trains of thought.

tags: Web Design , Web Development , Clients

Free Axure Design Patterns

Roslyn Zolandor | 18/08/2009

The main tool we use within our user experience (UX) team is an application called Axure. It allows us to create wireframes, prototypes and specifications for our clients before we start the design and development stages. Here are 4 great Axure design patterns for you to download for free.

tags: Web Design , Usability , Information Architecture , Tips & Tricks

Developing with Flash Frameworks

Eddie Gallagher | 17/08/2009

Building websites in flash can be repetitive. Thankfully, there is a truly remarkable AS3 framework which does all this grunt work for you (and does it extremely well), and in less than 10 minutes!

tags: Web Design , Web Development , Flash Animation

Good Design & Usability Shouldn’t Stop At The Home Page

Roslyn Zolandor | 17/08/2009

Your website is on a job interview to first time visitors. Like a job interview where you will be judged firstly on your appearance than on your interaction the same goes for your website.

tags: Usability , Web Design

Forms: Less Is More

Guy MacArthur | 12/08/2009

People don’t like filling out forms, it’s a fact. So, when designing your web forms try using the less is more approach.

tags: Web Design

The User Experience & SEO

Patrick Wong | 11/08/2009

Search engines have long used the user experience as the pedestal to measure a sites worth. Algorithms have been written and frequently updated to crawl through your site and ranking pages accordingly for different search terms.

tags: SEO , Search , Web Design , SEO Sydney

All IE’s Aren’t Created Equally

Guy MacArthur | 10/08/2009

As a developer one of my responsibilities while working on a site is to ensure that everything looks as it should on many different web browsers. When I say different browsers that includes different versions of browsers. Currently, there are 3 versions of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer that dominate browser usage worldwide. Those are IE 6, 7 and 8. And unfortunately, they like to show the same web sites slightly, and on occasion drastically, different.

tags: Web Development , Web Design , CSS , Tips & Tricks

Huh? My Website Looks Like Your Website!

Vince Scordino | 7/08/2009

As described on Wikipedia, a website template is “a tool used to separate content from presentation in web design, and for mass-production of web documents” - basically, web templates can be used by any individual or organisation to setup a website.

tags: Web Design , Web Development

Quick User Personas – Understanding Your Audience.

Adam Tedeschi | 6/08/2009

Good Information Design and User Experience are essential to build commercial and profitable websites. Even if you don’t have a huge budget you can still do a few simple personas to help you understand your audience and put a human face to a demographic.

tags: Web Design , Web Development , Information Architecture

Compliance Through Disclosure

Wiliam | 5/08/2009

In the past few months so called “tax effective Managed Investment Schemes” (the MIS Sector) have been failing. Most notable were forestry product based Timbercorp and Great Southern.

tags: Web Design , Web Development , Business , Investment

Identifying Your Customers and Their Needs

Emily Berry | 5/08/2009

Too often when our clients come to us we hear about disagreements between departments about who thinks what should be on your new website. While the needs of the different departments within your business should be carefully considered, don’t forget to pay attention to the most important and valuable part of your online audience - your customers.

tags: Web Design , Web Development , Usability

Disruptive Online Marketing - To Use Or Not To Use?

Hamish Stead | 24/07/2009

In your face, formally referred to as Over The Page (OTP), advertising. Businesses use it for it's good CTR but users on the whole hate the disruption it causes. Can there be a happy medium?

tags: Online Marketing , Web Design

jQuery – Website Eye Candy

Vince Scordino | 21/07/2009

In the fast-changing world of Web 2.0, a developer always joins forces with one of the many JavaScript libraries available. A couple of my favourite plug-ins include:

tags: jQuery , Web Development , Web Design

If you build it, they will come

Daniel Wright | 16/07/2009

The simple truth these days is that building a great website might get some people to come, but if you’re going to take the task of building an online brand and reputation seriously, then you need to be willing to do a lot more than just build a website.

tags: Web Design , Web Development , Email Marketing , Online Marketing

WoW Is Good, But Is It Good Enough?

Daniel Wright | 15/07/2009

It’s a common requirement from pretty much every client we see here at Wiliam that they want a website with a strong “wow” factor. In fact, it’s Wiliam’s ability to deliver the highest quality, cutting edge design that attracts a great number of our clients. It’s important to remember though, that a really good website needs something fundamentally stronger at the core than just a strong “wow”.

tags: Web Design , Web Development , Web Strategy

Top Tips for a Great Creative Brief

Emily Berry | 14/07/2009

So you’ve completed the Pre Production phase of developing your new website. All the functionality is locked in, everyone understands the technical requirements of what your site will do, but before anything gets built you will need to utilise the talents of the creative team at your agency to create a visually appealing design.

tags: Web Design , Management , Tips & Tricks

Importance of Specification Documents

Stuart Manners | 10/07/2009

Too often I hear people asking "Why go to all the bother of writing up a functional specification document?" and "Wouldn’t it be cheaper and quicker to just start development?" Well from experience a site that has clear detailed specifications with little or no ambiguous information, allows for timelines to be estimated upon with more accuracy, makes development faster and meets expectations of an end product.

tags: Web Design , Web Development

Why developers and caffeine are a perfect combination

Simon Miller | 10/07/2009

Caffeine is the most important thing to a developer. The spec can be a little unclear and the time constraints too tight. Their workstation can crash three times a day and not be able to open more than Notepad and Paint at the same time (the purest tools of a developer); but you can’t mess around with a developers desire – nay, requirement – for caffeine.

tags: Web Design , Web Development

What does your website do?

Daniel Wright | 9/07/2009

It’s one of the most important and least asked questions when it comes to planning and building a new website. The knee-jerk reaction is of course that we all want our websites to ‘do’ everything. We want them to attract new business, build and maintain relationships within our professional communities, showcase our talents and achievements, and to read the minds of web users.

tags: Web Design , Web Development , Web Strategy

6 key points to consider when creating a website brief

Daniel Nelson | 9/07/2009

Briefs and their cousins Request for Proposals (RFP) and Request for Tenders(RFT) are very important documents which organisations often agonise over for many weeks! I have listed some key points which are often overlooked.

tags: Web Design , Web Development , Business

You Can’t Use What You Can’t Find – The Importance of Good Navigation Design

Eddie Gallagher | 3/07/2009

Well constructed, easy to use navigation is of the utmost importance when establishing integrity, authority, and trust in your website .Navigation conveys the scope and character of what your site contains and offers, it gives your site clarity and helps set user expectations early on. To my eyes (I’m a UI designer), good navigation design represents the absolute corner stone of good web design, if you don’t get it right, it doesn’t matter how pretty or how much cutting edge technology it harnesses, your site will ultimately fail.

tags: Web Design , Usability

3 Rules to creating great wireframes for your designers

Roslyn Zolandor | 2/07/2009

When creating wireframes or a prototype for a project there are several things I need to keep in mind so that our designers can create an amazing design.

tags: Web Design , Web Development

iPhone Application or iPhone Pages?

Benjamin Christie | 29/06/2009

Recently, a senior Optus executive came out and said that one of the mobile carrier’s recent areas of growth in the Australian market is due to sales of the iPhone. I am sure the other carriers in the Australian market have also seen a similar trend. So the question many of our clients are asking us at present is “Should we build an iPhone Application?” There isn’t an easy answer to the question, instead it may even be answered with a second question which is “Should we develop iPhone specific pages for our site?”

tags: iphone , Web Design , Web Development , Mobile Web

Announcing the launch of CareerNav for students and their parents

Alex Wilson | 26/06/2009

Do you remember when you were about to finish school? I’m sure you had multiple questions like; ‘where to from here?’, ‘what career should I choose?’ and most importantly, ‘how do I make money doing what I love?’. The newly launched CareerNav website now gives the answers many students and parents seek.

tags: Web Design , Web Development , Business

Including Video on your website

Benjamin Christie | 4/06/2009

Compared to 12 months ago, the number of prospective clients and long term clients asking about video solutions has vastly increased for us.

tags: Business , Technology , Web Design , Web Strategy

Web Development in a School Environment

| 28/05/2009

James Mitchell-Clark @ Wiliam work experience talks about web development in a school environment

tags: Web Design , Web Development

Quick Tips: Using Goals & Funnels for Optimising Conversions

Patrick Wong | 28/05/2009

Wondering where your customers go after second thoughts during checkout process? Create a few goals in Google analytics for some insight on how to optimise your checkout process.

tags: Web Design , Web Development , Google

Not Always the Homepage

Benjamin Christie | 21/05/2009

During a pitch meeting last week, the client who we were pitching for was shocked that not everyone who arrives to their websites comes via the homepage.

tags: Web Design , Search , Usability

Reasons to Consider a Microsite Strategy

Daniel Nelson | 22/04/2009

Microsites can be a great way to focus on an issue or product and deliver targeted messages. Some hints and reasons to consider microsite strategy:

tags: SEO , Web Design , Web Marketing

The power of utilising Video on your website

Daniel Nelson | 16/03/2009

Savvy web marketers and digital agencies can utilise the captivating power of video as part of successful web strategy to support brand’s and achieve exceptional cut through with online audiences.

tags: Web Strategy , Online Marketing , Web Design

Increase your ROI when advertising on TV by integrating it successfully with your website

Roslyn Zolandor | 27/02/2009

You can increase your return on investment (ROI) when running a television commercial by successfully integrating it with your website.

tags: Web Design , Web Development , Business , Web Strategy

Online Charting Tools Comparison

Roslyn Zolandor | 18/02/2009

For a recent project I had to review 4 online charting applications for a redevelopment of a clients extranet website. The website had numerous reports with an option of viewing the results as charts. The 4 charts reviewed are not the only online charting applications but give a good idea of the different kinds of charting tools available online.

tags: Information Architecture , Web Design

Why Minimalist Web Design May Offer More

Adam Tedeschi | 9/02/2009

Over the years the Internet has seen much advancement in available technologies. Widespread broadband availability has allowed for graphic intensive sites as well as rich media such as streaming videos. The wide range of options can make it difficult for web designers, developers and administrators to settle on one approach. It’s no surprise that numerous websites have become large, unwieldy collections of content, images, technologies and add-ons. While these features can have a positive impact when used effectively there are some notable advantages for using a minimalist design for your site.

tags: Web Design , Web Strategy , Online Marketing , Web Development

Why a Brisbane Man’s Crusade May Change Your Website’s Design

Hamish Stead | 29/01/2009

Unfortunately, accessibility is a topic few sites administrators take serious despite prior lawsuits awarding monetary damages and other unfavorable outcomes.

tags: Business , Website Accessibility , Web Design , Online Trends

How Should Outbound Links Function

Gillian Lindsay | 20/01/2009

There’s a good chance your website contains at least one outbound link. If so, you have probably debated whether or not this link should open in a new browser window. There are several logical reasons why this may seem like a good option

tags: Usability , Website Accessibility , Web Design , Web Development

Five Tips for Usability in Your Checkout Process

Roslyn Zolandor | 24/12/2008

You may think you’re home free once a user clicks on the button to begin the checkout process. Too often, usability issues in your final process may cause potential buyers to back out of the deal. Here are five tips to help ensure your users will complete the sale successfully...

tags: e-commerce , Usability , Web Design , Business

Ten Things Every E-commerce Site Needs

Benjamin Christie | 24/12/2008

Ten things that all e-commerce sites need to look for to make selling the goods on offered as easy as possible.

tags: e-commerce , Business , Web Design , Usability

IE Vulnerabilities: Are You Part of the Problem?

Robert Beerworth | 22/12/2008

By now you’re probably familiar with the latest Internet Explorer security issues. If not you can review our previous post on the topic. Over the past few years there have been an increasing number of vulnerabilities in Internet browsers. When these issues occur the blame is always placed with the browser itself. However, there is another party that shares some responsibility.

tags: Online Trends , Web Strategy , Web Design , Business , Technology

Planning Your Website’s Display Resolution

Hamish Stead | 22/12/2008

800X600 has been the safe standard for many years. Statistics now show almost all users with resolutions of 1024X768 or higher. Some statistics even show a majority of users at this resolution as early as January, 2004. But does this trend automatically mean you should develop your site in 1024X768?

tags: Web Design , Usability , Online Trends , Technology

Remaining Accessible: Mailto Links vs. Contact Forms

Gillian Lindsay | 15/12/2008

If you have a website or blog you probably want to provide a way for users to contact you directly and privately. While email is the perfect vehicle for this type of communication providing your address in a secure but usable manner may take some planning.

tags: Online Trends , Technology , Web Design

Web Browser Trends for 2008

Daniel Nelson | 9/12/2008

Since the year is nearly over it’s an excellent time to see how the top web browsers have faired in 2008.

tags: Online Trends , Technology , Web Design , Web Strategy

Managing Your Brand Online

Daniel Nelson | 2/12/2008

A well executed campaign can lead to phenomenal sales growth at a fraction of the cost of traditional media. But what happens when a campaign unintentionally offends a portion of this diverse market?

tags: Online Trends , Online Marketing , Web Strategy , Web Design

Your Blog’s Domain Name

| 27/11/2008

How often have you seen a major corporation use name.wordpress.com or name.blogspot.com as a location for their blog?

tags: SEO , Corporate Blogging , Web Design , Search

Why You Should Develop an Online Widget

| 27/11/2008

You have probably heard the term Widget used more and more these days, but are you still left wondering what a widget is or why you should jump on the widget bandwagon?

tags: Technology , Web Design , Web Development , Business , Media , Viral Marketing , Web 2.0

What is a tag?

| 27/11/2008

You’ve probably heard of tags being used on websites and blogs. In case you’ve never noticed them, you’ll find a list of tags at the bottom of each of our blog posts. You may wonder what purpose these tags serve.

tags: Web Design , Web 2.0 , Search , Web Marketing

Host your own video or use a third party?

Daniel Nelson | 7/11/2008

If you’re interested in hosting videos on your site one of the first questions you must address is where you will host them. Your first instinct may lead you to one of the popular video sharing sites such as Youtube or Viddler. This has been an excellent choice for many companies for several reasons:

tags: Online Marketing , Online Trends , Business , Web Design

Effective Website Metrics

Daniel Nelson | 4/11/2008

Wouldn’t it be great to know exactly what your site needs to convert more visitors to customers? While this may seem like an impossible task, much of this information is readily available through detailed website metrics.

tags: Web Design , Web Strategy , Online Marketing , Business

The Importance of User Testing

Patrick Wong | 30/10/2008

In most cases you will spend a great deal of time testing various technical aspects of your site before it is available to the public. You will ensure the navigation functions, forms submit correctly, and the site behaves correctly on all browsers. While this is an excellent start, this approach neglects a critical variable: your users. Do you know the types of users your site attracts? If so, do you understand how these users expect to interact with your site?

tags: Web Development , Web Design , Usability

Website, micro site or splash page?

Daniel Nelson | 27/10/2008

Are you planning a marketing campaign or the launch of a new product? If so, you’re probably planning a corresponding web site. You could create a standard website complete with multiple pages and navigation. But have you considered the unique benefits a micro site or splash page can provide for these campaigns?

tags: Web Design , Business , Web Marketing , Web Strategy

What Can You Learn from BarackObama.com

Robert Beerworth | 21/10/2008

The upcoming presidential election in the United States is the first since Web 2.0 technologies have become widely used. Although both candidates have embraced these features, Barack Obama’s online success has been unprecedented.

tags: Web Design , Web 2.0 , Online Trends , Online Marketing , Social Bookmarking , Web Strategy

Quality Landing Pages Design

Robert Beerworth | 15/10/2008

Landing page design will ultimately affect cost-per-click and the conversion rate. Google also analyse the landing page to assess quality score. Here are some advice for you to consider when marketing online.

tags: Online Marketing , Web Design , Web Strategy

Adding Twitter To Your Website

Benjamin Christie | 13/10/2008

In the past, we’ve looked at how you can maximize the potential of Twitter for your business by following what your customers have to say about you. The next step is to maximize how you communicate with your users utilizing Twitter.

tags: Web 2.0 , Online Trends , Technology , Web Design

Focus Groups During Web Design

Adam Tedeschi | 8/10/2008

Design and development teams can become so wrapped up in the design process that the interests of the target audience are forgotten. How can you help prevent this situation from occurring on your next project? You should consider adding a focus group to your mix.

tags: Web Design , Online Trends , Business

Accessibility and Your Website

Mike Hall | 8/10/2008

Accessibility addresses the ways people with disabilities interact with your website, whether visually, physically, or mentally impaired, all users should be able to navigate, understand and interact with your site. Here are some compelling reasons why your website should be meet accessibility standards.

tags: Website Accessibility , Usability , Web Design , Web Strategy

User Centered Design and Your Website

Mike Hall | 7/10/2008

Are you familiar with User Centered Design? If not, the concept is nearly as straight forward as it sounds. A User Centered Design method strives to involve the users in the development of a product as early and as often as possible. The goal is to produce something highly usable, ensuring a good user experience.

tags: Online Trends , Web Design , Usability

Empowering Visually Impaired Users Online

Mike Hall | 1/10/2008

Many of us take for granted the ability to navigate websites online, but have you ever wondered how a vision impaired person experiences the internet?

tags: Web Design , Usability , Website Accessibility

Preparing for Google Chrome

Robert Beerworth | 30/09/2008

Google recently released a beta version of their new Internet Browser called Chrome in more than 100 countries but how does it compare to the cunning Firefox or the popular Internet Explorer?

tags: Online Trends , Web Design , Web Strategy

Refreshing Your Website Design

| 17/09/2008

Have you reviewed your web site lately? If your site is at least a year old you may want to consider updating the design of your site. There are several reasons to consider an update:

tags: Business , Web Design , Web Development , CSS , Usability

Recycling with City of Sydney Council

| 6/08/2008

As part of Wiliam’s ongoing work for the City of Sydney Council, we recently worked on the Zero Waste website. Zero Waste is an exciting initiative that aims to give people ideas on how to consume less and really think about how waste can be a valuable resource.

tags: Web 2.0 , Web Design , Flash Animation

Do you have a Purple Cow website?

| 14/07/2008

This is the story that Seth Godin tells in his book, Purple Cow; you’re driving along and the countryside is lovely. Look! There’s some cows, bucolic and charming. And over there, some more cows. Eventually, you just don’t see the cows anymore. They fade into the landscape – which has gone from pretty to pretty boring. But imagine driving past a purple cow. Now that would recapture your interest in a big way, wouldn’t it?

tags: Web 2.0 , Web Strategy , Web Design , Online Marketing

Tactics: Improving your Bounce Rate

| 9/07/2008

Once a customer launches a website, the first question is usually; “How do I know it’s successful?”

tags: Web Design , SEO , Web 2.0

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