Website Features???

Originally posted by: AaronJohn

Hi All,

wondering if someone can help...

Moving from the old tradional static web sites, What kind of features are available today with websites?

For example,  it is very comman now to have:

- search facility, secure online payment, member login panel...etc etc

What other features are being used in websites alongside the above as kinda standard builds? Also, what new things are up and coming...

Thanks

Hi,

The reason many websites now have things like search facilities and logins is because many websites these days are put up in a few hours using an off the shelf CMS (usually Joomla) with very little thought to what functionality is actually required by the user.

You are thinking of it the wrong way round. The question to ask is "what am I trying to achieve with this site, and what tools will my users need?".

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www.symworks.com

0845 009 8230

UK web solutions

I agree 100% with Sysops - you are looking at it all wrong.

What exactly do you want your website to achieve?  Is it an eCommerce site or purely an informational site? There are a number of things that can be done with sites nowadays - but you need to know what you want otherwise it will cost you a fortune if you try to cover all bases, particularly if they are unnecessary.

A good example to have a look at is sites done already by the likes of Creospace and Awebapart.  Their client sites can be seen here - this will give you some idea of what is being done currently:

http://www.creospace.co.uk/portfolio.php

http://www.awebapart.com/home/Portfolio_of_Client_Sites

Have a good browse around these and you will see what can be done.  If you have any specific questions, then feel free to ask.

www.ComspecComputers.co.uk">href="http://www.ComspecComputers.co.uk">www.ComspecComputers.co.uk  -  Home/Business Computer Services

Hi Aaron,

There are so many great features available today to be added to your site, but I agree, no matter how boring it sounds, it does totally depend on what actually are your site needs.

Let’s say you run a computer repair business and your site has 10-15 pages, I do not think that a search facility would be of great benefit for you, it might be much better just to introduce a well structured site map and, perhaps, breadcrumbs. Though, if your site has hundreds of pages, let’s say you sell online or run a blog, here you definitely would want to add a search facility.

All you need is to sit down and look at your aims and goals you want your site to achieve. If what you want is just to spice up a small site with a more modern look, you might find that a redesign may be what are you looking for, try things like Flash main image, rounded corners and gradient, they seam to be very trendy at the moment. May be introduce some maps, contact forms, competitions, games, news whatever is relevant.
Try http://designmeltdown.com for more design ideas, they have a great selection of latest design trends.

If you have a big and complex web site, you may consider also adding (depending on your site goals) various search options; membership (to some restricted section with extra valuable information, deals, etc.); newsletter subscription; message board, forum or chat room; events calendar; marketing forms; etc.

Best luck!

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Natasha Hill Web Design Studio
http://www.natashahill.co.uk