The standards of web design in SA

[Dave A]

One of the best designer sites - http://www.steinergraphics.com

And then we do a Google search for website designer or web site design and we get?
Even with web design, one of the site's listed keywords - nowhere.

The site has PR5. So clearly inbound links (referrals or "reputation") is how people are finding him. Now if he paid a little attention to keyword presentation for search engines, they'd be impressed too.

EDIT: OK. I've now tried quite hard. web design geneva, web design canada - nada

[duncan drennan]

For me they are a whole planet ahead of most on design, but when it comes to the reality of SEO, they don't feature.

I somehow don't think it is important to them.

It's crazy, like saying that it is not important for people to know how to find your shop.

[Chatmaster]

Designing a website is something that a 12 year old can do. Designing a web site for a business is a complete different story. A business that approaches a design company to design them a website puts the responsibility in the hands of that company to design them a site that will work. At the end of the day the objective of the business is to get web publicity. For this reason they are laying out 1000's and it certainly is not their responsibility to ensure that the basics of the web design was done correctly. They are normally not technical and nor should they be. Although W3C standards are not a requirement for any web design it certainly makes sense following them. The W3C standards are good practice standards that makes it easy for spiders to read and understand the HTML/XML etc. These could easily be used by web designers to ensure that they deliver a quality product. That quality includes a solid rendering website, without any errors in the code and spider friendly for SEO purposes. Remember that SEO is not actually done by the web designer. This still stays the responsibility of the client. The point of this is that SEO is impossible if the web design company didn't design the website properly.

[Debbiedle]

Remember that SEO is not actually done by the web designer. This still stays the responsibility of the client. The point of this is that SEO is impossible if the web design company didn't design the website properly.

I agree and IF the client is not clued up, he needs an intermediary to start speaking his language (sales and marketing) to the website designer or the website designer needs and intermediary to speak his language (graphics and design) to the client...........unless of course the client is a SME or owner based business like a lot of us on here.....I certainly know just about enough on both sides, to be dangerous....

[Chatmaster]

And then we do a Google search for website designer or web site design and we get?
Even with web design, one of the site's listed keywords - nowhere.

The site has PR5. So clearly inbound links (referrals or "reputation") is how people are finding him. Now if he paid a little attention to keyword presentation for search engines, they'd be impressed too.

EDIT: OK. I've now tried quite hard. web design geneva, web design canada - nada

The site is very poorly designed and shouldn't rank. It seems to be designed by graphics orientated people instead of proper web designers. The irony is that this site specifically will not convert that well either as their site is not designed with any conversion methods in mind. It is a typical example of a pretty but complete useless billboard. It al starts with the homepage. Using images for your main nav is never a good idea, especially if you do not use alt tags over them.

Dave try the following search
Swiss-Canadian freelance web designer

[Dave A]

Dave try the following search
Swiss-Canadian freelance web designer

Now why didn't I think of that?

[Debbiedle]

It's crazy, like saying that it is not important for people to know how to find your shop.

Hi DSD

I would imagine Versache sp?(for instance) has no desire for the masses to even know about them, never mind actually inviting us (I speak for myself in plural) into the inner sanctities of designer heaven. Surely their only interest is in ensuring that WOM continues to set them apart and the website is thus purely a showcase of their ability, kept as exclusive as their real life establishments?

If we look at it from this point of view, is the design from steinergraphics excellent or poor? Fact is we don't know, because we don't know what the brief (originating from the client) was.

[Chatmaster]

Hi Debbie, this is a very valid point. I would like to answer this for you if you do not mind. When a web site is designed by the company the innitial brief and decision making process consist out of alot of compromising. The client must be comfortable and happy with the aesthetics of the end product. However... this doesn't mean that the design needs to be done ignoring the minimum standards.

For example, I have a serious issue with them using graphics for the navigation. This could have easily been resolved by either using text navigation and css to alter the appearance of the font. Alternatively they could have simply just added alt tags to every image. Nothing changed as far as the aesthetics were concerned.

I remember reading research done, 3 years ago? Anyway the research basically said that 24% of all searches on Google was done for local business searches. I wish I could reference it but I recall this as I prepared a seminar at the time and this was very suitable for my audience at the time. Now even if Steiner wasn't interested in SE's for some stupid reason, surely they would freak out to realize that nothing in the look and feel of their website would have to change to accomplish rankings, it was simply not designed properly!

To go to the next example. Once again an image is used to replace text within the profile page. The same text could have been done using background images, real HTML text and css, but with one MAJOR difference... they would be able to rank for some of the keywords like "new media designer"

This site has a PR6 homepage and several PR5 internal pages, but they are not visible on some crucial Google SERPS for completely no reason.

[Dave A]

I would imagine Versache sp?(for instance) has no desire for the masses to even know about them, never mind actually inviting us (I speak for myself in plural) into the inner sanctities of designer heaven. Surely their only interest is in ensuring that WOM continues to set them apart and the website is thus purely a showcase of their ability, kept as exclusive as their real life establishments?

The question that comes to my mind here is the relationship between exclusivity and being known.

What makes a nightclub elite? The great music and decor, or the queue outside, the red rope at the door, and the blatant attitude of the doorkeeper? Without the queue, the elitist posturing is laughable.

Which is more attractive to the elite - a brand that is largely unknown except among the elite circles, or one that is widely known as being for the elite only?

Surely it is the oohs and aahs of the commoner that makes "the experience" of shopping there worth it for the elite. Otherwise it's not much more than the local store that has really great product, but has no signage outside the door. Cliquey, perhaps. But not elite.

Part of the image of being a "great little secret" is that people know it's a "secret."

*Just for the record, I think Debbie is putting up a really impressive counter-argument on this.

[Chatmaster]

*Just for the record, I think Debbie is putting up a really impressive counter-argument on this.

Yep, and I have reped her because I appreciate it!