Finding a professional company to design your first website can be a minefield of jargon and hidden costs.  If you have arrived here because you are looking for someone to produce a website for you then you have probably already tiptoed around and encountered the smorgasbord of services and varying prices on offer and are wondering why my prices are so reasonable.  

I keep my prices low because I want to provide a service to small local companies, groups and individuals who recognise the need for an effective online presence but do not have the expertise or time to produce their own website.  I keep all the services I offer in house and keep my overheads as low as possible.  Being self employed myself (and running a separate non-profit company) I understand the budget limitations of a small organisation.  This also puts me in the perfect position of understanding the most effective methods of online marketing for smaller businesses and organisations.  

What really saves you money though is my experience in online media and marketing.  I can work quickly, efficiently and effectively utilising my communication, website design and social networking skills to deliver the perfect website for your purpose.  I know how to listen and can guarantee that the website I design for you will be perfect for your needs ... and it won't cost an arm and a leg because you will be needing those for what you do best .

This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.

If you are an artist or crafter and want to publicise or sell your work then an attractive, effective website is essential.

User Friendly Web Design can build you the perfect website where potential customers and galleries can get a clear idea of the work you produce.

With a simple website we can provide a gallery of your work, a shop where you can sell direct to customers online, contact details, a biography and a blog where you can let the outside world know what you are up to (and massively increase visits to your website).

... and the good news is ... you can have all this for £250!  

If you would like your work photographed or filmed professionally then we can do that too - check out our price list here.

One of the first steps to take when you startup a new small business is thinking of your online marketing strategy.  A presence on the internet is invaluable whether you are selling your product or service locally or nationally.  An attractive, effective website with a handful of intelligently placed keywords can save you a fortune compared to offline advertising.

User Friendly Web Design specialises in designing websites for small startup businesses.  We know how important it is for a small business to keep costs down and plan ahead.  This is why DIY makes sense.  Content Management Systems (CMS) are websites which you can manage yourself so there's no delay in waiting for someone else to do it for you and of course no cost when you want to make changes to your website.

Websites produced by User Friendly Web Design are easy peasy for even the least technically savvy person to update.  With every site we produce we offer free training and an instruction manual so you can make changes whenever you like.

Our pricing structure is simple and there are no hidden charges.  There is a one off payment and then nothing more; no monthly charges.  If you elect to buy your own domain address (which will give you email addresses too) you normally pay (around £60) to renew ownership every two years.

User Friendly Web Design saves you time and money leaving you to concentrate on making a success of your business.

Social networking is an invaluable way of drawing attention to your website. Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn (et al) drive traffic to your website and let the online world know who you are and what you do.

Twitter, in particular, is great for finding out what's going on and sharing what you have to offer.  

On Twitter, hashtags are used to categorise tweets by marking keywords or topics.  I find them particularly useful, as I follow over a thousand tweeters, for saved searches on my most relevant topics.  I have Twitter accounts for my two websites; User Friendly Web Design (website design in North Devon) and Arts and Entertainment North Devon (arts and entertainment news, reviews, listings) so it makes sense for me to regularly search for North Devon tweets.  

However, Twitter users in North Devon are currently in a battle of wills over the North Devon hashtag!  There are currently two main hashtags for North Devon; #northdevon (my preferred tag due to my spelling/grammar OCD) and #ndevon which saves you a few characters in your 140 character limited tweets.

I'm curious to know which is the more popular and I may be prepared to change my mind and my habits when I find out.

So ... click the quick poll below and vote for your preferred North Devon hashtag!

 

User Friendly Web Design in North Devon offers an in-house photography service at £50 per half day.

A successful website relies not only on SEO; optimising the word content of the website for search engines such as Google to find, but on its appearance.  

A strong corporate image is essential to set your business apart from the rest and the starting point for this is an eyecatching company logo.  However, when it comes to your website you need to catch the eye of the reader immediately and a page full of text will not do this.  At User Friendly Web Design we make sure that your web pages are well balanced with text and pictures making your readers more likely to spend time on your website.  

We can take photographs of your products or premises and most importantly of you.  What sets a small business apart from others on the internet is the people behind it.  Research shows that if a potential customer can identify the person behind the business they are more likely to make that initial contact.  In an area like North Devon where competition for business is fierce we make sure that the design of your website sets you above the rest.

... and a slight digression here - we also make sure that your contact details are upfront.  Your potential clients are more likely to email or telephone you if a) they know who you are and b) the contact details are given clearly.

Today's tip: when uploading photographs to your website make sure they are named for maximum SEO.  Search engines read the labels on pictures so this can help you draw traffic to your site.

Have a look at our sister site Amanda McCormack Photographer and see some examples of photography for websites.

I have been building websites using Weebly.com for nearly a year now and out of all the template based web design options I find it by far the most user friendly.

There are a whole range of ready made design options to choose from and the simple drag and drop elements make page layout a breeze.

An attractive, easy to navigate design is only the start when it comes to effective web design.  Copy writing for the web is a skill which I have developed over several years of editing and publishing website content.  Then comes the crucial part; SEO (search engine optimisation) making sure that your words attract exactly the right readers.  Finally, getting the word out there, Social Networking is all important today.  Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube all build up your online profile bringing visitors to your web site.

I have recently added Weebly training to my services, so if you want to learn how to effectively design and manage your own Weebly website I can help you.