Web Design vs Web Development – What is the difference?

Web Design vs Web Development – What is the difference

In the website building industry the customers often took same meaning of the website design and website development, but in reality both are entirely different areas. Mostly when customers need a website they often come across the two terms, ‘website design’ and ‘website development’. Almost 90% of the customers don’t understand the difference between the two and often interchange the both terminologies. Actually the main factor that cause this confusion among the non-technical people is that the ‘design’ and ‘development’ words if come next to the website are only referred to the website building and nothing else. But both have entirely different meaning from the website building prospective. In fact the two terms ‘design’and ‘development’ are entirely different from each other and even when used generally people perceive them as two different terms. However when it comes to the websites they both got mixed up. In this blog we will elaborate the differences of the website design and website development along with the areas where both intersected each other.

Website Designing

Website Designing

The website designing is a process of creating the website layout and user interface. Everything from the color scheme and fonts to images and content is arranged in a structure to form a website design. This process is called website designing. These days the website designing is a very complex and lengthy process. With the increase of smartphones and social media, mostly people are spending their time on the smartphones. Which raise the importance of the web design and user interaction. The online company presence can also generate a huge chunk of sales and revenue which makes it extremely important to have a business oriented design approach in which the user interaction, user experience and customer journey is designed with extreme care to boost online sales.

The website designing requires certain skills and tools such as:

  1. Graphic Designer
  2. UI/UX Designer
  3. Photoshop, Illustrator

The website designing process includes the following steps:

1. Requirement Gathering

Requirement Gathering

This is the very first step of any website designing and website development project. The website designer or web design agency will have to sit with the customer to discuss their needs and objectives. This step mostly include multiple discussions and brain storming.The objective is to form a scope of the work for the website.

2. Sitemap

Sitemap

Once the requirement gathering is done and a scope is formed the next step is to create a sitemap of the website. The sitemap is a list of all the pages, categories, sub-categories and the entire blueprint of the website. The sitemap is used to enlist the content/pages of the website and it also dictates the navigational structure of the website design.

3. Wireframe

Wireframe

The wireframe is a basic visual representation of the website layout and different elements. It also provides a visual representation of the website design. The wireframe is in fact the very first stage of the actual website design. Usually the website wireframe are made as geometrical shapes such as boxes and rectangles or as such. These wireframe provide a better understanding of what a customer should expect from the final website design.

4. Mockup Design

Mockup Design

The mockup design is the first actual website design that is being presented to the customer. The mockup is a fully designed webpage. The very first page that is designed is the homepage of the website. Once the homepage is designed a basic structure and frame of the entire website is set. The header, footer, theme, color scheme, structure, etc all should be followed for the internal pages as well. After the homepage all of the internal pages are designed.

Website Development

Website Development

Once the website designing process is complete then the next phase is the website development. The web design is just an image it doesn’t have any functionality or interaction yet. The website design is like a car without engine, the website development will put that engine inside the car to let it run. The website development is basically programing and is entirely consists of the source code and the processes that are invisible from the website visitors. These processes are running behind the scene and are responsible for the user interaction. The programing will decide which area is clickable and which is not, which image will move or which will not, etc. It is basically all the movements and clicks that we can see or do in the website which form our interaction and experience with the website.

The website development requires certain skills and tools:

  1. Website Frontend Programmer
  2. Website Backend Programmer
  3. HTML, CSS, Java Script Code, PHP and MySQL
  4. Dreamviewer

The website development process includes the following steps:

1. Requirement Gathering

Requirement Gathering

The requirement gathering for the website development is not like the requirement gathering for the website designing. In fact this time the requirement gathering is being done with the internal team between the programmer who will be doing the frontend and backend programing of the website and the design team and project manager or team lead. At this stage the objective of requirement gathering is to understand how different sections of the website should work and respond to the users.

2. Slicing

Slicing

This is the very first step of the website development phase. Once a web design is ready, it is being transferred to the website developer team and the very first thing that is done is called “Slicing” during this step the web design is converted into different design elements and small pieces like a jigsaw puzzle to be later controlled by the source code to form the user interaction and user experience.

See More : What should I have on my website of an interior design company?

3. HTML, CSS and Frontend

HTML, CSS and Frontend

HTML is the programing language that is being used to control and form the layout of the website is the web browser. The HTML is a frontend development method and it not only includes the HTML but it also includes CSS and Java Script. These two are also programming languages and used to aid the HTML for visual and graphics effects and various interactions. Collectively all three the HTML, CSS and the Java Script are called the frontend programing of the website or the websitefrontend development.

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4. PHP, MySQL and Backend

PHP, MySQL and Backend

The PHP and MySQL both are programming languages and are being used on the website server. These languages build a software or program which will executed at the server and generate results according to the inputs taken from the users through a web browser via the frontend of the website. These days most of the websites are dynamic. It means there is a CMS (content management system) to update the website information and content. The programing used to develop these all features is called website backend development.

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Website Designing VS Website Development

Website Designing VS Website Development

Website designing and website development both are equally important and are necessary for website building. The website designing basically lay down the base and the structure of the website navigation. It means how the information will be presented to the user/visitor and how the visitor can access to the information from and through various sections and pages. The website design is extremely important in online sales and revenue generation. Each and every single color pattern or design element whether it is an image, a box, a button or the fonts is very important in forming the customer journey at the website.

However the website development is purely based on computer programing and is completely invisible to the visitors. The website development build necessary source code which allow users to perform certain action by any click or movement on the website. For example if a user click on the logo from the contact us page, it is the programing that decides that the homepage should be loaded. Or let say a user clicks on a Whatsapp icon on the website to start the whatsapp chat, it is the programing that opens up your whatsapp and start the chat. Although at front you can only see a single button but behind that button pages of source code are running to enable that functionality.

See More : Why a Website is the First Impression of a Company?

Why People Think Website Designing and Website Development are the same?

Why People Think Website Designing and Website Development are the same

In Dubai, UAE and local markets most customer think that the website designing and the website development both are the same. As I have mentioned above, these two are completely different from the website building prospective. However, still so many people think both are the same. The main reason is that in past (a few years ago) generally local markets were flooded with the static websites, which were only the HTML based websites and doesn’t have any backend or CMS software. At that time when a company or business needs to develop a website they were provided with a website designer or team of the designers who were also familiar with the website frontend development and can single handedly deliver a website. This made up a mentality among the masses, even today if we check the search engine statistics we will find that the search term “web design Dubai” has huge number of searches comparing to the search term “website development Dubai”. This is the reason people still confuse one with another and often interchange both terminologies.

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Conclusion

The website designing and website development both are different. The website designing majorly includes the website structure, the theme, colors, fonts, patterns and each and everything a user can see in the web browser is done and planned during the website designing. However the website development is the source code and programing that runs behind the scene to let the computer execute commands and return the results. For example how a button will look like is done during the website designing phase and what that button will do is part of the website development phase. The website designing requires a completely different set of skills and it involves totally different tools and technology. The website designing mainly require a professional graphic designer and artist who utilize graphic designing tools to build a layout or design of the website. Whereas the website development requires a website programmer who needs programming tools to build the source code for the website. However in Dubai, UAE people more often consider them the same and usually interchange both terminologies expecting the same meaning from both of them which is website building.

At RSI Concepts we have a professional and experienced website building teams consisting of skilled website designers and experienced website developers. If you need a website for your business or organization or if you are interested in revamping your website, feel free to reach us out through our Contact Us page or leave us a comment in the comment box below.

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What should I have in my website of an interior design company?

What should I have in my website of an interior design company

What should I have on my website for an interior design company? Many interior designers are asking this question these days. But why they are interested in the websites in the first place? Well, those days are long gone, when the interior designers and companies reaching out to people with their booklets, brochures and photo albums. These days the digitalization is taking over. Every good designer knows how important the first impression is to close a lead. And your website is your first digital impression and first entry point to your business from the online domain. It is extremely important that you have a strong website that is capable of turning your prospects into leads. In Dubai, UAE another very crucial phenomenon that all local businesses are witnessing is that their audience and customers are preferring to search for them online. Multiple studies and surveys are done in the past few years and the results were suggesting that the influence of online is far greater than ever before and it is even still growing. The interior design companies are no exception. You should understand how the websites work and what you should offer to your visitors from your website to convert them into a legit lead.

The interior designing market is all about colours, layouts, patterns and looks and feels. Does your website reflect that too? Your visitors and prospects will expect the same from your website, they will subconsciously judge you by the visual representation and functionalities of your website. A website is a very strong bond to build trust among the online audiences and customers. It is one of the most effective communication tools but unfortunately, most of the SMEs and local businesses are completely unaware of its importance and potential. This is why we have decided to write this blog and we will elaborate on what you should have on your website if you are operating as an interior designing company in Dubai, UAE.

1. Content

 Content

The very first thing you need even before starting a website is a plan and strategy of the content. You should define clearly what content you want to publish on your website. Prepare all the content accordingly and have it in your hand before moving to the web design phase. The content will be all the text, pictures photos and media (videos, animations, graphics, etc). Make a list of all the pages you want and prepare content accordingly. The homepage is the main entry point to your website it is a kind of reception of a physical office for a website. Most of your traffic will land on your homepage. Define other pages such as About Us, Services Pages, Portfolio, Media Library, Contact Us page and or any other page which you think could be helpful in attracting the attention of your customers.

While preparing the content it is very important to make your content short and descriptive, these days no one likes to read multiple paragraphs to understand a point. Utilize visual aids, images, graphics, animations, videos, etc to explain your point. In Dubai, UAE everyone has access to high-speed internet. The general public trend is that people pay more attention to the videos and visual content rather than the textual content. But that doesn’t mean your textual content is not important. It is still the most important part of the content. Use different sales pitches which attract visitors to hit the call-to-action button. Technically speaking the CTA or Call to Action is the act of a prospect converting into a lead. It could be purchase, enquire, signup or anything. In the case of an interior designing company website, the CTA would be most likely contact or enquire or a call back request.

2. Web Design

Web Design

The website has two major parts, one is the web design or the UX/UI and the other is the backend or the programming or source code. The source code is hidden from the visitor’s eyes and is executed inside the computer and/or server to form a web design. However, the web design is the actual web page we see in the browser. It has to be very intuitive, interactive, appealing and convincing. Interior designing is basically a visual industry and in each visual industry, the designers are well aware of the effects of the designs, colours, patterns and the overall impression. The same rules apply to the web designs as well, although it is a bit more diverse and have certain other things which could help businesses increase their online leads and conversions. Bus the basic remains the same.

For the web design, there are certain rules that if followed ensure a better response from the visitors. In the web design for an interior company website, the homepage has to be very simple, and as your sales pitches are mostly the work you are doing so your homepage has to be able to host multiple services if not all but at least the most important services that you are doing. Do not load your homepage with tons of information and photos. The main landing screen should have a great visual representation of your work and your services along with compelling taglines and sales pitches to encourage the visitors to hit the CTA. For the internal pages, each page should have a unique experience as per the content.

For example, your portfolio is a very important page, usually, the interior designing companies website don’t pay much attention to the portfolio page. Mostly web designs only show a large image gallery with only functionality to Zoom or Full-Screen image. It is important you put basic information of the project along with the images too. This not only encourages the visitors but also builds trust. The same applies to other internal pages, pay more attention to the service pages and at least design one page for each service. The contact us page is also important, do not ask for tons of information in the contact forms or other forms. Just the basic information is enough. Include your location map and complete contact details. The web design is the only touchpoint where a visitor interacts with a business hence has to be made with the attentions to convert that visitor into a lead.

3. Responsive and Smartphone Compatibility

Responsive and Smartphone Compatibility

These days mobile phones have become essential to daily life. People spend more time on their smartphones and smart gadgets than on conventional computers and laptops. Most internet searches are made from smartphones. It is a general understanding now among marketers that smartphones are more capable than traditional computer or laptop. Mostly the social media is used in smartphones, more searches are made from smartphones, and all sort of industries are utilizing the enormous potential of smartphones and innovating new ideas to utilize them in boosting efficiency and convenience. Being a local business or even a national business in the interior designing industry it is vital to have a smartphone-enabled website. When people notice a website that is not mobile-friendly or doesn’t support smartphones, they tend to avoid it even while searching from the computer or laptop. This is why these days smartphone compatibility which is more often called responsiveness is very critical and important for an interior designing company in Dubai, UAE.

A responsive website is one that is capable of detecting the device from where it is being accessed and then automatically render its design as per the screen size and other parameters of the device. This all happens in less than a second, in fact, it takes only a fraction of a second. The great advantage of a responsive web design is that it maintains a similar user experience in all devices which is important because if a user has accessed your website from their laptop and later they are accessing it from their smartphone they would expect the same elements on the same places, which is very important to build a user experience. The visitors’ expectations are always high, and they have tens of hundreds of other options just a few clicks away. So, it is important to capture their attention when they first land on your website or any web page. Else they will move to one of your competitors.

4. Dynamic Website & CMS

Dynamic Website & CMS

What is a dynamic website? The dynamic website is the website that provides a content management system or CMS such as PHP Framework, WordPress, Joomla, Drupal or any other framework. This CMS is used to manage and update the content of a website. It is very important to constantly publish new content and keep the information up-to-date on an interior company website. The Dynamic Website comes with a content publishing tool which we call a CMS or content management system. It has an online dashboard and allows the administrator or the management to access the control panel online. Whenever you want to publish new photos in the media library or want to upload a new project and simply want to edit any information on the website you can do it quickly and easily from the CMS. This is the modern industry standard.

Earlier there were two types of websites, the static and the dynamics. The market was dominated by the static website because the companies and organizations were not using them for the purposes they are currently being used for. Now a day if you want a static website you must have to have a website programmer who can update the website content and information. As the static websites can only be updated by writing or editing the source code. Which requires sufficient professional and technical skills. If you go with a static website, either you have to hire a website programmer in-house or you will have to outsource this work, which will add up to the operational cost. So, the best approach is always a dynamic website for interior designing companies as they will require continuous updates and uploads on their websites. And it is more cost-effective in terms of operational cost.

5. Load Time

 Load Time

The load time is the time a website or a webpage takes to get a load from the server to the client/browser. As the interior designing company’s website has more than usual images and graphics so the load time could go higher. But from the user perspective, high load time is very bad and visitors often leave a webpage if it takes too long to get load. So it is very crucial to optimize the load time for an interior designing company website. There are so many different methods and techniques that website developers use to reduce the load time. These details are all very technical so I will just list them here:

  • Reduce HTTP Requests
  • Combine Multiple Source Code Files
  • Minify the Source Code
  • Create Sub-Domains to Load Different Source Code Files and Multimedia in Parallel
  • Optimize the Pictures and Photos
  • Use Small Photos for Thumbnails and Load Large After the Zoom Button is Clicked
  • Use SVGs instead of PNGs and JPGs for Design Elements
  • Draw Patterns and Backgrounds using CSS as much as Possible
  • Built the theme in a way that it loads content on the scroll
  • Use Appropriate Web Hosting

Of course, the list goes on, but these are the major key player in the load time optimizations. If these things are considered while the development and commissioning of the website the load time can be reduced significantly.

6. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is very important these days. If you want to build a good brand reputation you should make sure that your website appears in the first results of the search page. If you want to reduce your digital marketing expenses, you need organic traffic which comes from search engine optimization. SEO has evolved a lot, and only professional web designers and web developers can understand its importance and can build websites that are ‘SEO Friendly’. Your every service is your keyword and relevant terms that people use in the search engine to look up for those services are your keywords, these keywords should be added in the content on the website and in the source code, they should be added with the right attributes. Similarly, the design should also highlight them clearly.

The search engine and social media and many other data scrappers read those keywords, evaluate their repetition rate and their prominence and then rate a page for those keywords, similarly, they associate certain pages of your website with certain keywords. This is the very basis of the SEO of course there are a lot many other things but it is critical that your website’s design and source code structure is search engine friendly and it let them read the content easily. This will automatically increase your ranks in the search results and will divert a vast amount of free organic traffic which will not only reduce your digital marketing cost but will drive more leads and conversions.

Conclusion

The interior design company or any other local business heavily rely on online traffic these days in Dubai, UAE. In order to maintain a steady stream of online organic web traffic, you should have a great website. And it should be great enough to convert your prospects into leads. As is with any other visual industry the looks and feels are the most important and the first impression is very critical, the interior designing industry is not an exception. Your website is your very first interaction with a very large audience, make sure they convert. Pay attention to the content, design, images and every minute detail possible to build up a user experience that compels the visitors to click on your CTA. Consider the loading time and page speed as well.

Make sure your website abide by all the standards and rules of the search engines so that you can get higher ranks in the searches. These days in Dubai, UAE the general population is very much relying on their smartphones, the smartphone searches have already surpassed the traditional computers and laptops. This makes it extremely important that your website is not only SEO friendly but it is also smartphone compatible or responsive. Your website is basically the foundation of your digital marketing campaign and activities. It has the potential to determine the failure or success of an interior design company.

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What should be covered in a hospital website?

What should be covered in a hospital website

In Dubai, UAE most of the time when a customer needs to make a purchase decision they often look up on the internet first. The websites and internet presence can hugely influence the purchase decision. When it comes to local businesses, a website plays an important role in trust-building and brand reputation building. Most often our customers ask us “what should be covered in a hospital website?” which is why I am writing this blog to cover the basics of the subject. In the healthcare industry, people are very sceptical. They always do research, ask their family and friends about the brand and then make a decision. When it comes to the internet a hospital website is the very first interaction of the brand with their customers or patients. A website is very capable of both, driving more traffic and also repelling your precious customers away. Hence a hospital website in Dubai, UAE needs a great deal of planning and strategy if you really want to improve your customer experience and growth.

For hospitals and the healthcare sector, a website is becoming a very powerful tool in past few years. People living in UAE are more adopted towards the latest technologies and trends. In a few past years having a good online representation of your business can quickly improve your brand image, brand reputation and sales. But it is important that what image you are portraying with your website is the best representation of your brand. For hospitals and clinics, a website must offer necessary information and functionalities which can help improving customer experience and customer journey.

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Here are some important things that need to be considered in a hospital website:

Simple and Easy to Understand Homepage Design

Simple and Easy to Understand Homepage Design

 

It is very important to understand that the Hospital website’s homepage is very different from any other traditional website. The main objective of a hospital website is to provide an interaction for the customers, all other call-to-action is not relevant. We only need to focus on the entry points. Following are the most important details that a customer or patient will seek when they will land on a hospital website:

  • The Services a hospital is offering
  • A list of important and popular doctors
  • Directions, Timings and Contact Details

These are the very basic information that a customer needs to interact with the hospital. So, it is very important that we keep our homepage simple, easy-to-navigate and avoid unnecessary items. Usually, the one thing we notice is that Hospital websites have irrelevant links added in prominent positions which are not relevant to users. For example, employee login, link to their intranet or doctors internal portal or any such links/buttons that are not useful for a customer/patient. Avoid these links and such details. Another thing is a patient is always in a need of an urgent solution, they are very less interested in your business vision or story, yes the client testimonials or remarks from other patients are helpful but keep them at the bottom of the page or in the lower sections. The most visible part of the homepage for a hospital website should contain the most relevant information for the customers/patients.

Think from a patient’s point of view, try to analyze their journey, think what they would be looking for and then direct their path towards the successful interaction via a call to action button or activity. Provide them with less but precise and very important information. Form your customer journey is multiple but easy and short steps, each step should provide them additional information which will encourage them to for the next step. This is how a hospital website should form a customer journey.

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Internal Pages and Content

Internal Pages and Content

In a hospital website not only homepage is important but since the visitors are expected from various sources, for example, search engine, social media or any other marketing source. The internal pages should be short, informative, and dedicated to one service only. Multiple services in a single page will either make it too long or even if you try to keep it short you might not be able to provide enough information that can encourage a visitor to convert into a lead. Use fewer graphics and multimedia as people prefer to read more information on such pages. The service pages or other internal pages should serve their objectives, for example, if it is a service page then you should have a very directive customer journey path and call to action.

The content and language for all of the pages whether internal page or homepage should be very easy and simple to understand. Avoid using complex technical terminologies and technical explanations. Try to aid with mini-animations or graphics to explain a difficult or complex phenomenon. All the pages should provide complete and clear information in a very simple and easy to understand manner. The customers and patients who are coming to your website or its internal pages are looking for a solution to their problem or need. Make your pages design and data as simple as possible so that it is easily understandable for an average user.

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Offer Digital Services and Helpful Functionalities

Offer Digital Services and Helpful Functionalities

A Hospital website is not just only your company profile. As we all saw the digitalization and transformation of digital services in past few years in all types of industries and public sectors. Especially in Dubai and UAE, the governments are emphasizing digital services and the governments themselves are offering a huge variety of digital services, most of the time you don’t even have to go to a public office instead you can avail the service online via a web portal and/or smartphone applications. This has completely changed the trends and expectations of the service-based industries. In healthcare and hospitals, the customer who is your patients would also expect digital services. Here are some examples of digital services and website functionalities that can literally transform your customer journey:

Online Appointment Booking

Online Appointment Booking

The online Appointment Booking system is a great feature to offer by a hospital website. The functionalities and features of this service should be decided with great care. If any integration with any existing system or data pool is required it should also be done to make the service easier and simpler for the customers. For appointment booking ideally, the patient should have the freedom to choose the date and time for their appointment with the doctors. The data of the doctors should be presented in a clear and very clean manner. A search engine should be offered to look up the available slots and the entire process should be concluded in less than three minutes. Only ask for basic information from the patient and don’t put a long checklist of symptoms or any such thing, these things will make the process difficult and the customers will easily lose interest, they will rather prefer to call or visit instead of using this digital service.

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Online Chat & Contact Details

Online Chat & Contact Details

Online chat is a great feature for a hospital website. Most healthcare centres and hospitals operate 24/7 and someone is always available at the phone or reception. So, arranging source for online chat management is also easier for hospital management. If that is not possible, a chatbot with basic Q&A could also make the service more effective. These days along with online chat WhatsApp chat is also gaining popularity. It is a very simpler and easier way for your customers especially those who are using their smartphones to access your website. Apart from that, the contact details of all the departments should be provided along with search functionality to further facilitate the visitors. The navigation of the contact details should be easy and simple. Online chats and online contact directories could improve the customer experience or patient experience and build trust for the brand.

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Online Patient Portals

Online Patient Portals

As the hospitals are compiling very comprehensive patient data and all the details of their previous history and everything. Online Patient Portals are a great way to make those details instantly available for your patients. Online Patient Portal can add greater value to the user experience of a hospital website. The patient should be allowed to register either completely online which is a better approach or either by visiting the hospital to get them registered for the online portal. Once they are registered they should be provided with login details, and all the data should be protected and only available after successful login to the portal. It will be a complete patient profile and history of their past visits and treatments or whatever details you think should be provided to your patients/customers.

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Customer Feedback and Complaint System

Customer Feedback and Complaint System

Customer Feedback and Complaint System is a very important and useful feature for the service-based industry. A hospital website should have dedicated customer feedback and complaint systems. Customer feedback is very important in understanding the needs and problems of your customers and patients. The hospitals can collect customer feedback from both website and smartphone applications as well as other a bit more traditional mediums. The complaint module is a very important feature of hospital websites, as most of the time the customers visiting a hospital are already stressed or worried or at unrest, so they could have a lot of complaints. You should provide them with a medium to express their feelings and emotions. Active follow-ups and response will make them happy and improve the trust factor.

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Mobile Compatibility and SEO Friendly Website

Mobile Compatibility and SEO Friendly Website

As most of the people in UAE are using smartphones for their online searches and a lot of other online activities, in fact, the smartphone is their first choice for a lot of internets and social activities. It is important for hospitals to have a mobile-friendly or technically speaking, responsive website. A responsive website is a website that renders its content automatically accordingly to the screen size and device it is being opened from. The responsive websites can offer a uniform customer experience and journey on all sort of devices such as Laptop, PC, Tablet, Smartphones and other gadgets. The responsiveness is a very important feature for a website that requires online customer interaction. Apart from responsive web design, a hospital website should also consider cross-platform compatibility. It is a bit more technical feature but in simple words, it means that the website should maintain a uniform user experience on different platforms such as Windows, MAC, Android, iOS, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Edge and such things.

SEO Friendliness or search engine optimization compatibility is a must-have feature. Whoever is looking for your brand or service you are offering will most probably search it in Google or other search engines. If your website is developed and designed as per the SEO standards and you have followed the best SEO practices, the chances are your website will appear in the first results on the first page of search results. This is a very crucial feature, not only search engines but various social media platforms which are commonly used for such searches also utilize the same search engine compatibility or SEO Friendly features to rate and display content in their search result pages. If a customer is finding your website on top of the search results, they will automatically get a sense of trust and will show a positive response towards the brand. It not only ensures more traffic to your hospital website but also improves brand trust and brand reputation.

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Conclusion

Business operating in Dubai and other parts of the UAE has witnessed huge changes in their sales and brand impression by simply updating their websites. Especially in the service industry when it comes to the customer journey and customer experience businesses should be very careful. In the case of healthcare and hospitals, people are always very sceptical and do a little bit of extra effort to ensure they will get the best healthcare services. It is very important for a hospital to have an excellent website with all the required features and functionalities. The website should be organized well and all the information should be placed wisely. You don’t want to confuse your customers and your audience ranges from a layman to an executive professional. Prepare your website’s content in a way that it could serve the entire spectrum the best approach is always simple and plain language, less technical abbreviations and multi-lingual support could do wonders for your hospital website. Other features such as responsiveness, online appointment booking, customer feedback and complaint module, online chat and doctor’s directory, etc are very important for a prospect. Make sure all the information that your visitors are seeking are available in very simple and easy access.

It is always better to consult a professional web design agency in Dubai such as RSI Concepts. We have a track record of helping out hundreds of businesses and brands. Feel free to reach us out via our Contact Us page. We will be happy to assist you.

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What should I have in my Website of a Car Rental Company?

What should I have in my Website of a Car Rental Company

In Dubai, UAE millions of tourists and visitors arriving each year. Some of them are here for short term business trips, some are for leisure and vocations. Whatever the purpose is the people are coming here and the car rental industry is thriving, that is not all, in the local or residential population a lot of people occasionally rent out a car for certain reasons which is also helping the car rental industry to grow. The growth and expansion bring competition, what else could be the most effective way to beat a competition other than having a website on the internet?

There is a very common trend among the residents of Dubai, UAE that people tend to search online and whenever they need anything they immediately pick up their phone (if they are not already on it) and look it up on the internet. This further makes the website extremely important if you are aiming for long term success. You are not the only one who can grasp this public knowledge, there are others too, in fact, most business owners, entrepreneurs and industry leaders know the importance of the internet and a website. That is the reason we have decided to write on this topic and named it as “What should I have in my Website of a Car Rental Company?” It will help the car rental businesses to generate a steady stream of online prospects and customers through their websites.

A Great Web Design

A Great Web Design

The first and very important thing is the actual web design itself. Whenever someone will reach to your website, the very first impression they will perceive will have lasting effects. The most common mistake by car rental companies is that they have too many flashing ads, tickers, or pop-ups which are distracting, annoying and looks so unprofessional. The internet is not a new thing, everyone uses it, everyone is familiar with a lot many national and international brands they interact with over the internet on regular basis, some of them could cost millions to their respective businesses.

But don’t worry, I am not asking you to spare millions, but the one thing which we need to understand here is that those all “other” websites that people visit on regular basis are mostly of large corporations or eCommerce or government sites or hotel reservation or flight booking sites, all those websites are built on a certain structure with certain information to focus. And when it comes to renting a car, the people in their sub-conscious mind are also expecting a clean, helpful, easy to navigate and more importantly easy to understand website. So your design must be very customer-centric and should have nice and clean looking design elements that have a soothing impact on visitors’ eyes and user experience.

Smartphone Compatible or Responsive Web Design & Smartphone Applications

Smartphone Compatible or Responsive Web Design & Smartphone Applications

With the rise of large touch-screen enabled smartphones like Android and Apple iPhone, the general trend of internet surfing have changed worldwide. People tend to spend a lot of time on their smartphones, and for a car rental, it is very crucial to have a responsive web design. A responsive web design is very intelligently programmed in a way that it can sense the screen size and browser or in some cases the device type too and then the responsive web design can automatically re-arrange and re-size its components to render all the information in the right proportion.

This not only helps the user to navigate through the website from their smartphone devices more easily but it also maintains a similar user experience. And your user experience or user journey should be a very unique experience that a user can easily memorize and got familiar with. This will help you retain the existing customers too and the customers would also like to visit the site they have used once as they think they are familiar with the booking process and they know where all the relevant information can be found. This is what formed a user experience and it could be very beneficial for businesses in the longer-term.

Another excellent solution is to offer smartphone applications, but unfortunately, the new prospects are less inclined towards downloading new apps as everyone has a smartphone with limited memory. The smartphone applications are most common among the more frequent users, even then if they are using your services once or twice every year, they might prefer to stick to the website rather than downloading an application which they don’t require on regular basis. But it is always good to have extra ammo.

Essential Features and Functionalities

Essential Features and Functionalities

Now that we have already discussed the basics of the web design for a car rental website, now let us have a look at the functionalities and features that a car rental website should have in order to boost online sales and conversions.

Simple Booking Process

For a car rental website, the booking process should be as simple as possible. Most of the time the booking process involves too many questions and too many fields to fill, and even in some cases, there are too many checks and authentications on the input fields or in simple words limits on the input fields. These all things make the process lengthier, confusing, frustrating and annoying. Even some market data suggests that most of the customers prefer certain car rental websites due to their easier booking process. So, a simple booking process is key to success.

Online Chat and/or Chat Bots

Online Chats either by human or artificial intelligence is one of the great features to have. Try to appoint someone to answer the chats rather than an automated chat program. Whatever you do, an online chat really helps to gain the trust of the customer. These days, WhatsApp connectivity is also very common and very simple to integrate into websites. That could also help.

Customer’s Testimonials

Customer’s testimonials, endorsements and feedbacks are an excellent way to gain the trust of the online prospects. When people see other people giving positive feedback about a particular product or service they tend to consider it more than the one without endorsements. And that is true too, feedbacks and testimonials are the proof of superior service and great quality work.

Flexible and Customized Booking Plans

Another great competitive advantage is flexible booking plans with an additional feature to enable a customer to customize them as per their needs and requirements. Of course, this can only be planned with a critical thinking and foolproof strategy so that you don’t end up being less paid or less profited. But it surely helps, it encourage customers to book from your car rental website when they see you are allowing them to make up their own plans which align well with their needs.

Online Payment Gateway and Terms & Conditions

Ensure your customers that they are using a secure payment gateway while doing transaction from your website. Choose a payment gateway wisely which is popular worldwide and is also popular among your targeted audiences. So it looks familiar to them as well. Clearly describe your payment terms, cancellation policy and change request policies to prevent any confusion or complaint later. This will increase the trust of your customers.

Highlight Extra Services and Freebies

During the booking or better at the very initial stage of the booking, highlight the extra benefits and freebies or bonuses. For example, you can offer DVD players, on-board navigations, chauffeur service, baby seats, bonus miles or time, etc. Such things can significantly increase the conversion rate. When customers see special offers, bonuses and freebies they tend to convert more even if they think the price is a bit higher. It could really help to improve online conversions from a car rental website.

User Accounts and Profiles

Offer the visitors and prospects to sign-up for their user account and user profile, offer them some additional benefits if they signed up such as additional support or free newsletter or free announcements about the latest offers, etc. When a user signed-up for a car rental website the chances of them coming back again to utilize the same service is far higher than non-signed up customers. Provide them with a small, very simple to use the dashboard to get access to the information about their bookings, billings, records, etc.

Setup Auto Responders and Notifications

People love to get information, updates and notifications about the booking services. Set up automatic responders, notifications and auto-updates via Email or SMS or profile notifications. Keep them informed, let them know when the car arrived in front of their home, or at the airport or at the pick-up point. Send them a thanks message at the drop-off. These things will help car rental websites to build a positive brand identity and a good brand image among the customers.

Complaint and Feedback Section

Build a very active complaint and suggestion section on your car rental website. Try to capture as much feedback as you can. It will not only help you with improving your website but it will also help you with improving your services and customer experience. When a customer is asked for feedback they feel the brand cares for them. When the customers have a bad experience and they want to complain, they should be able to do so, so that they know how much you prioritize your customers and how serious you are to rectify those issues. This could really help to improve brand image and reputation.

Social Media Integration and Sharing Features

Built social media integration and sharing buttons so that your visitors and prospects can easily share your web pages, your plans, offers, etc with their friends, colleagues and family. This will further amplify your marketing activities without any additional cost. As we all know these days people tend to spend a lot of time on their social media and content sharing sites, so if they like something and have an option to share it with someone they will definitely do it. It will further improve your brand’s popularity and it will attract more customers.

See More:  Qualities of a Superior Web Design Company in Dubai

Other Important Car Rental Website Features

Other Important Car Rental Website Features

The above all points are mostly customer-centric and are majorly related to customer experience and customer journey. There is a lot more that can be done to improve the business generation capabilities of a car rental website. Such as:

Search Engine Optimization or SEO

Search Engine Optimization or more commonly known as SEO is a very important aspect of any digital marketing campaign. Even if you are not doing any digital marketing campaign right now you might need one later. SERO friendliness or SEO compatibility of a car rental website will help to generate organic traffic. People tend to search in Google or other search engines, if your website is not built as per the standards and is not so friendly with Google and other search engines your business listing might not appear in the search results. Optimize your website for search engines and make sure your website is developed and programmed in a way that helps search engines reading its all content.

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Analytical Tools and Customer Data Collection

Analytical Tools will help you understand your website’s traffic, usage stats and a lot more. All the data collected from the website analytical tools could be very useful for business intelligence. It could help car rental businesses to understand their customers, their website’s usage such as at which page customers are spending most of the time, from which page from the purchase cycle the customers are leaving, and much more. This could help you identifying a lot many issues within your website which could later help you to improve everything. User data collection is also a very useful feature, it will provide you with a vast amount of existing customers which you can re-target by various means to generate more sales.

See More: Why should you choose RSI Concepts for Web Design in Dubai and Sharjah?

Conclusion

A website is a very delicate aspect of marketing if a business is relying on the online domain or is planning to achieve some sales goals through online mediums. A website should be customer-centric, it should also have to be technically capable and bug-free. The user experience is everything, if a user is unable to find the required information from a website they will immediately leave and will go to the next website. That is very simple there are too many options that are available for a customer to choose from. The car rental industry especially in Dubai, UAE is a very competitive marketplace. There are too many variables in this industry that could directly impact your business. Your website could be a strong foundation for your success or next jump. Make sure your website is easy-to-use, customer-friendly, offers value and capable of attracting more visitors. These features will not only help you achieve your online sales goals but your brand identity and brand reputation also heavily rely on your website. A website consists of a web design, and all the content and features or functionalities it is offering to your customers. Before making a website strategy think from the user’s or customer’s point of view and try to include as many attractive features as you could.

It is always better to acquire professional help. At RSI Concepts, we are not only specialized in car rental websites and marketplace but we are also providing a full fledge car rental solution with exceptional features that can help you unlock the true potential of your business. Don’t hesitate in reaching out. You can contact us from our Contact Us page.

Check out this: 5 Qualities of a Good Website

5 Qualities of a Good Website

5 Qualities of a Good Website

What makes a website a good website? In this blog, we will enlist 5 qualities of a good website. Your website is not simply an online company profile or brochure. It is a very powerful marketing and communication tool. It can be used to make or ruin the brand reputation. The impact of a good or bad website is huge. Nowadays as everyone is more connected to the internet, people are looking up for anything to everything on the internet. Smartphones are also setting up new trends. In Dubai and the other Emirates of UAE, as the high-speed internet is in everyone’s reach and smartphones have become an essential part of our life, people tend to spend more time staying online and connected than ever before. Your website could act as your online brand identity and it could also be the very first brand impression to a larger audience. Hence, it has to be the best.

As there are tons and tons of ready-made website templates available, having a unique website that not only is capable of representing your unique brand identity but should also have the potential to attract more customers is a quite challenging task. In this competitive world, the customer’s expectations are very high, you must have to be unique in order to stand out. If you want to beat the competition your website must have to be unique and offer something which no one else is offering. This couldn’t be achieved with any off-the-shelf or ready-made website design template. It requires the mastery of marketing and superior website designing and development skills to produce a website that can turn your random visitors into a brand loyal customer.

Here are the 5 qualities of a good website:

1. Simple and Easy-to-use User Interface

Simple and Easy-to-use User Interface

Well, some of you must be thinking what is a user interface? Well, technically the definition of a UI or user interface is a point where machine and human interacts. However, in the websites, the user interface is the layout and design elements that interact with your website visitors and help them find the required information. The user interface is very basic and the most important aspect of a website. Any good web design agency in Dubai, UAE should know the importance of the user interface and the information structure of a website. This is what would be the fundamental scale of failure or success for any website.

The user interface should have to be interactive, reactive and easy to understand. For example, if a user has landed on your website while they were searching for a particular product, which you already have on your website but due to a miss-managed user interface that particular product is hidden under any tab, animation or it requires the user to click on a certain area or button to get appear, then forget about getting any leads related to that product. First of all, whenever a user lands on your website they immediately start looking for the information they were searching for, if you failed to present that information within a few first seconds, the user will be going to leave your website and start searching elsewhere.

See More: Website for Branding

2. Clear Call to Action (CTA)

Clear Call to Action (CTA)

Call to Action or CTA is a bit technical term, definitely, for each business, the call to action will be different for example, for an online library the call to action will be to get access to the books, but for an eCommerce website the call to action or CTA would be a purchase of an item. That is not all, for example, if you are operating in a service-based industry then your call to action would be “request for a quote” or a “call back request” or any such thing. Online registrations, online and offline subscriptions of the services and all those points where you are making a sale or achieving your sales target is called a call to action or CTA. Most of the time the CTA is just a button that then leads the customers to the actual conversion stage where a visitor turns into a customer. The importance of the call to action is often neglected but it is the most critical and important aspect of websites.

Before you expect a customer to click on your call to action button and perform whatever activity you want them to perform, you must have to understand that a good website must always offer a full customer journey which starts from providing information to sales pitches and then to the purchase or conversion. A good website always takes account of all these important points and take the visitors through a pre-defined customer journey that ends on the CTA or call to action. Another important thing is that your website should clearly provide the information and functionality of the CTA and the visitor should have to be fully aware of the results of hitting the CTA.

See More: Website Development with leads management system

3. Smartphone Compatibility and Cross-Platform User Experience

Smartphone Compatibility and Cross-Platform User Experience

Smartphones have surpassed the usage of conventional computers and are already dominating internet searches and online activities. A good website must have to offer a similar user experience on smartphone devices as well as on regular or conventional computers and screens. A responsive web design could resolve this problem. But it is not as that simple as it may sound. Having a responsive design is something else and having an equally effective responsive design is something else. The responsiveness of mobile-friendly or smartphone compatible websites are programmed differently than traditional websites. As technology has grown a lot, website designing and development tools have also modernized. A good responsive website is one that can maintain the same user experience on all devices and screen sizes. For example, if a user is familiar with your desktop/laptop website version they will go to expect similar elements in similar places and so on and so forth.

Apart from responsive websites, there is another less popular fact which most of the time customers and sometimes the website developers also ignore. It is cross-platform compatibility. As there are so many different smartphone and computer operating systems and web browsers and each one of them is slightly different from the other there must have to be a strength and quality in the website to perform in a similar way on all those platforms and devices. For example, the Google Chrome browser which is widely available in Android, Windows and Linux based operating systems and also for Apple OS (operating systems). It has different versions on different platforms, for example for Windows let say the latest version is 19 for Apple OS or MAC it could be 15 for Linux it might be 17 and for Android it could be 21, this is how different web browsers are distributed on different operating systems and platforms. Of course, there are certain limitations and privileges too which also vary from one platform to another, the website must be intelligent enough to handle all those versatilities in order to maintain its very unique user experience on all those different devices and platforms, this is what we call cross-platform compatibility.

See More: Why should you choose RSI Concepts for Web Design in Dubai and Sharjah?

4. Content and Multimedia

Content and Multimedia

Most of the time all the textual information are considered to be the content and the pictures, images, videos, sounds, and animations are considered to be the multimedia of a website. It is extremely important that your website has a blend of all of these elements. The textual content includes all the titles, headings, sub-headings, lists, descriptions and details each webpage contains. It is highly recommended to have dedicated pages for each product or service. The most important page is the homepage of a website. It must contain a glimpse of all of your products/services so that whenever a user lands on it, they could easily judge what sort of products and services you are offering. Your taglines should have to be brief, appealing, and tempting. But do not use fake information or false claims. Try to keep your website’s content up-to-date and fresh. Provide precise and exact information. These days people usually don’t like to read much, so better make your content short and explanatory.

As the high-speed internet, powerful computing devices and the latest advancements in website development technologies made it a lot easier to offer multimedia content than ever before. People are more attracted to photos and images. Use them with a proper plan to enhance your customer journey. Try to use some animations and a few interactive features as well. This will keep the user’s interest live. But avoid excessive use of multimedia content, videos and animations. As the saying goes “excess of everything is bad”. But these animations, 3D effects, graphics elements and multimedia content will surely help you to improve the customer journey which will improve your conversion rate too.

See More: How to choose the best web design company in Dubai?

5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization or also known as SEO is also very important. As it could ensure a steady stream of visitors and potential customers to your website. Search Engine Friendly websites always perform well. There are a lot many things that you should consider while developing your website but there are a few that matters the most. Your website must have to be very user-friendly and interactive but make sure the content you are putting on your website is also equally visible for the search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. The search engines are not humans they are software powered by artificial intelligence and algorithms, they perceive things differently so there are certain tools and techniques to let them read and absorb as much of the content of your website as much possible. Here are a few things to consider:

  1. The content should be in source code and not in videos or flash animations
  2. The videos and photos should be marked with appropriate markers to highlight them
  3. The webpages should support schema and structured data markers
  4. Social media tags should be there for more visibility
  5. The business or organization should be defined through the source code which is specifically designed for search engines
  6. The website pages should be linked via proper navigational structure
  7. The website load time should be as low as possible
  8. The security parameters and markers should be available on the website

There a lot many more things that I wanted to list here, but I think it already got too technical. Anyway, there are so many things which is a customer you might not be able to understand but you should ask your web designing agency to keep a check on them. These things will definitely improve your search engine ratings, which are also considered by a large majority of customers as proof of good repute. It could not only help you get more prospects to your website but it will also help you to improve your brand trust and brand identity.

See More:  Expected web designs trends for 2021

Conclusion

In this blog, we have listed some most important factors that ensure a good quality website. The most important thing is that your website should have to be able to provide good quality content with an exceptional user experience in order to achieve your online marketing goals. The websites are not online brochure or corporate profile anymore, they have evolved into a completely different and very powerful communication platform that has enormous potential. Your website could easily provide you with an excellent competitive edge and could help you reach unexplored territories with minimal investment. Overall a good website is the most valuable asset a modern business can have. It is always wise to consult a professional website development agency in Dubai like RSI Concepts to develop a good website for your business. You can reach us through the comment box below or you can always contact us from our Contact Us page. Our contact details are also available at the bottom of this page. We are always eager to help our customers in achieving their business goals.

Check out this : Qualities of a Superior Web Design Company in Dubai

4 Significance of Web Design Dubai, UAE

Updated January 12th, 2019

As the new businesses are registering on daily bases, there is a significant increase in overall trade which has a very positive effect on the health of the economy of the country. As per the stats gathered by the Dubai Statistics Center, in the third quarter of the year 2019 alone, 10,729 new licenses has been issued. That is just the Dubai, now think of the Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and other emirates! There are thousands of new businesses that are starting up in the UAE each month. New businesses not only mean new opportunities but also means new competition for the existing businesses. Hence the importance of creating the first impression is crucial. Your web design is the gateway of your overall online brand identity. As the 2020 Expo is on our heads, we should be prepared for digital upgrades and especially our web designs if we want to stay ahead of our competitors. A study shows that about 70 – 80 percent of the people do online research before visiting any business or make a purchase decision. Which makes the web design most important part of your overall online marketing efforts.

Web design is how you would want your clients to see your official website. It is actually the process of creating your website. This includes the layout, font styles, graphics, and other visual imagery that will make your website catchy for the visitors and easy for use. Creating the best styles and putting appealing content gives your prospect customers first impression towards you and the services that you have. In Dubai, investing in the best company to give a high-end web design really matters.

Four-Significance-of-web-design-dubai

Web Design Dubai importance

If you build up a business whether for fashion, technology, and so on, of course, creating your own official website will always be part of your startup plan. Your online marketing presence is a big step towards reaching your clients. And so, creating a good Web Design Dubai helps them to locally and internationally, competitive amongst others. In this blog, we will talk about web design UAE and its importance in your business.

  • Creates the First Impression

Whether be it a flyer, the design of your shop, or the advertisement on your television, it all gives your viewers first impressions about your business. Same as your web design UAE. In a split of a second, your prospective clients would have their judgement. And who would want to left negative impressions towards their customers? That is why it is important to invest in good web design Dubai, be creative yet simple Web Design UAE. You should include fonts and typographic details into consideration. But remember not to overdo or else your client will leave your page and look for a more simple and easy to navigate the site.

  • Brand Uniformity

Since you already have your website design, it will be easy for you to introduce your brand and be consistent in showing what your brand is. In short, make your audience familiar with you and what you offer. It is very important for the customers to recognize you in all forms and aspect. So you must pay attention to the design of the website Dubai that you have. Remember, everything you put on your website represents your brand. Use the colours of your brand, if not, your official colour and the same style you have on the homepage for the succeeding pages. In this way, your customers will not be confused.

  • It Makes Your Business Trustworthy

Engaging with people or business online is sometimes scary especially with all the scams and frauds all around. Sometimes, it is the quality of your web design from which people base their judgement on whether to trust your site or not. If they see that your web design looks outdated or with poor quality, they will become hesitant to further review your site. However, if they see your site as something that looks very appealing and with a high-quality web design UAE then they would probably stay and continue navigating it. If customers enjoy and decided to stay on your site longer, it will bring improvement on your business leads.

  • Improves Search Engine Optimization – SEO

One of the things you should consider is how will you strategize your content in your web design. It is how and where you are going to place the most important information on your website. This will help you to let your customers see it effectively. Other than that, this information helps you to improve your SEO. When you include information on this part of the website it will be easier for the Search Engines to crawl into your site thus, improves your SEO visibility.

Checkout: 10 Web Design Trends of 2020 in Dubai