Custom Website Design

We provide hands on customer service for all of our clients. You’ll have direct access to your assigned webmaster. We’ll never force you to speak to a call center representative.

We provide fully customized web design services from the bottom up. We’ve put together a custom web design portfolio for you to review.

Custom Web Design vs. Templates

Here’s why Custom Web Design is better than template design tools:

1. Custom Websites are unique and designed from scratch to match your specific brand. Sure you can simply replace the header image of a template and/or change some of the colors around, but nothing compares to the absolute unique layout, colors and graphics that make your brand special.
2. Custom Websites give a developer more control over the placement, layout and features of your website. For example, when you use a template you are limited to having your navigation in one column or another. With a custom design, we can spread out navigation menus and/or program them to have unique features.This highly customized navigation menu (image below) would not be possible without the coding skills of a professional web developer. When you visit a page, the navigation menu dynamically determines which page you are on, and then it ensures that particular link in the navigation is accompanied by a small image of the brands mascot. This helps the visitor navigate the website in both a unique, brand strengthening, and fun way. Templates simply do not offer this level of customization.
   
   
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3. Custom Website Designs allow web developers to maximize the power of search engine optimization Search engine optimization (SEO) is the logic, knowledge and process responsible for helping search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing, find and list your website in their results. The majority of template websites come accompanied with a very basic level of SEO. The result: your website isn’t found in search engines. Additionally, a more rare but plausible scenario is that you may not want search engines to list your website at all. In the latter case, a professional web developer can ensure that you retain a stealthy website.

A Webmaster vs. Do It Yourself

Many individuals and companies will take on the brave task of developing a website themselves using what is called a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) web design program. Adobe’s Dreamweaver and Microsoft’s FrontPage are examples of such programs. These programs often cause you headache and steal your time. While using one of these programs is tempting, they are no match for a professional webmaster. Perceptions of using WYSIWYG programs for web design as being a standard, have gone so far that many web design companies actually require applicants to be proficient in one or more of them to be considered for hire. We hold to the notion that good custom web design doesn’t entail the use of these programs, but rather encompasses the utilization/knowledge of the following

8 Skills for Custom Website Design:

1. Fluency in Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML, i.e., the language that speaks to your internet browser).
2. Fluency in Cascading Style Sheets (CSS, i.e., the language that tells HTML how to appear).
3. Fluency in the Client Side Programming Language, Javascript (i.e., the programming language that makes HTML dynamic).
4. Fluency of at least one, but preferably more, Server Side Programming Languages (e.g., PHP, ASP, ASPX, Java, or Others).
5. Expertise in graphic design development and the use of graphic manipulation programs, such as the GIMP and/or Photoshop.
6. Expertise in proper Search Engine Optimization
7. Knowledge of Networking, Servers and proper website security.
8. Knowledge of content management systems and database design.

At Web Ventures Plus™ we utilize several tools to accomplish the development of a custom website. Firstly, we’ll mock-up and then design the graphical website using the GIMP. Secondly, using one of our favored text editors, we layout and style the website with strict HTML/CSS coding. Thirdly, we either choose an existing Content Management System (CMS) (e.g., WordPress, Drupal or Joomla) or we create a custom one from scratch, to maintain the content that will appear within specified areas of the website. We believe CMS’ have become essential in building the majority of websites. They make it easy to backup, upgrade and convert to technologies as they change. Additionally, CMS’ make it possible for our clients to update their website themselves. We do, on occasion, still develop a website with strictly static HTML; these websites are usually very small with a limited purpose served. Lastly, we use a variety of webmaster tools to verify website coding compliance, browser compatibility, device compatibility, proper server settings and proper search engine optimization.

Our webmasters are fluent in all of the aforementioned 8 skills for custom web design and utilize the method for custom website design above.

Web Ventures Plus’ Keep It Simple Philosophy

Every one of our custom website designs have a few things in common: we keep them organized, efficient, compliant and simple. You’ll never get lost on a website we’ve designed. We meticulously prepare, develop and test our designs. We use flash when it’s useful, such as for a fundraising ticker, but we’ll never use it to design an entire website. We are 100% World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) code compliant. The W3C is the non-profit organization which governs HTML, CSS and other web development standards. You may run any of our websites, including this one through the W3C code validation tool to check for code compliance.

Why is compliant coding and good organization important?

Not only is it important for Search Engine Optimization but it ensures that your website will appear the same on virtually every browser and system. It also shows our commitment to the Web Development industry and keeping up to date with its’ rapidly changing technologies.