Website Design | Web Design

ITM is a Cape Town & Port Elizabeth based website design company. All ITM web site designs are developed in responsive web design, are mobile friendly and almost all are built on DNN Software, the #1websitedesign Content Management System for business marketing websites.

Our website designers make it their business to understand your business first, and then implement the design and technology to give you the best online solution. At ITM we pride ourselves on our ability to capture your website concept and deliver a solution tailored to your business’s digital marketing needs.
We offer our clients exceptional, value-for-money design packages, designed according to your budget.

ITM - Your Web Partner

Once your webpage development is complete, we then provide you with guidance and user support enabling you to maintain and update your website independently.Alternativesly, we are always on hand to lend assistance and support at a reasonable fee.

Web Site Designs

Web site design is a crucial aspect of creating an online presence. It not only defines the aesthetic of your website but also influences user experience and functionality. Various types of web site designs cater to different needs and preferences. Here’s an overview of some common types:

Web Site Designs

Choosing a Design Look-and-Feel

In the digital landscape, your website is often the first impression you make on potential customers or clients. Choosing the right design type can significantly impact how your audience perceives your brand.

If you're looking to create or revamp your website, our team of web page designers can help craft a design that not only looks great but also aligns perfectly with your brand's message and goals. Let our webpage designers create a website that stands out and truly represents your vision.

Principles of Good Website Design

Good design not only makes a site visually appealing but also ensures it is user-friendly, accessible, and functional.

website-design principles

Here are some key principles and considerations in web design that guide your webpage designers at ITM:

User Experience (UX): The website should be designed with the user in mind. It should be easy to navigate, with a clear structure and intuitive layout. User experience design focuses on ensuring the website is pleasant and efficient to use.

Responsive Design: With the increasing use of mobile devices, having a responsive design is essential. Responsive websites automatically adjust their layout to fit different screen sizes, ensuring a good user experience on desktops, tablets, and smartphones. Responsive web design is now an essential aspect of any website, it allows your website to resize automatically across all devices and browsers optimising your user experience and interaction. Google and other search engines have increasingly placed emphasis on the mobile friendly aspects of website design. ITM is one of the foremost proponents of responsive web design in South Africa. A responsive website works properly on any device, obviating the need to manage different websites or apps or mobile websites. With responsive design, your website can literally become the mobile app for your business. In addition you can choose which website components you want to deploy for mobile.

Visual Elements: This includes the use of colors, fonts, images, and graphics. The visual elements should be consistent with the brand’s identity and should enhance the overall look of the website without overwhelming the content.

Content Hierarchy: Important information should be easily accessible. Using headings, subheadings, bullet points, and other formatting tools can help organize content in a way that guides visitors through the site.

Speed and Performance: A well-designed website should load quickly and run smoothly. Optimizing images, using efficient coding practices, and choosing a reliable web hosting service are critical to ensuring good website performance.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Good design is also about making sure the site is easily discoverable by search engines. This includes proper use of keywords, meta tags, alt tags for images, and creating a mobile-friendly design.

Accessibility: Designing for accessibility means ensuring the website is usable by people with disabilities. This can include using proper contrast, enabling keyboard navigation, and providing alt text for images.

Call to Action (CTA): If the website’s goal is to encourage a specific action – like making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or contacting for more information – prominent and clear CTAs are vital.

Consistency: Maintaining consistency throughout the website in terms of colors, font styles, and layout enhances brand identity and makes the website look professional.

Testing and Feedback: Regular testing for usability, speed, and SEO, as well as gathering user feedback, is crucial for continuous improvement of the design.

In today’s digital age, websites plays a key role in the success of an online venture. It requires a balance between aesthetic appeal and functionality, always keeping the end-user’s experience at the forefront.

ITM Website Design Company

With over 20 years as website designers and one of the oldest web design firms in South Africa, ITM web design company has the experience you need to make a website that grows with you and excels at marketing your business. 

For more information on our website design prices & packages, Get A Quote

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Website Design FAQs

Website Designers

Most web designers encourage clients to manage their websites themselves and often provide training and video tutorials for this purpose.

ITM provide guidance and support for DNN Software CMS.

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ITM websites are built using a content management system (CMS). You will only need to login to the website to gain access to the edit functionality we have built into the website. Regular updates and maintenance play an important role in keeping a website current and attractive to visitors.

In addition we provide support and guidance on updating the various features i.e. Blogs, Image galleries, text and images. Generally, content updates should not take very long.

You are also welcome to ask ITM to help make minor updates. A reasonable fee, charged by the half-hour, will be charged for larger updates.

Website design significantly affects your business performance. A well-designed site can enhance user experience and potentially increase sales, while a poorly designed one can negatively impact your brand and sales​​. There is no need for you to struggle with what you have, Get a Quote - it is definitely worth your while.

The time it takes to build a website can vary greatly depending on several factors, including the size and complexity of the website, the design requirements, and the experience of the web designer.

In general, it can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks to build a simple website. For a basic website with a few pages and limited features, it may take a web designer a few days to complete. However, for a more complex website with multiple pages, custom web design elements, and advanced features, it can take several weeks or even months to build.

It's important to keep in mind that building a website is an iterative process that involves multiple stages, including planning, UI design, web development, testing, and launch. This process can take time, especially if you want to ensure that the website is well-designed, user-friendly, and free of bugs and other issues.

Ultimately, the time it takes to build a website depends on many factors and can vary greatly from project to project. If you have specific time constraints or deadlines, it's best to discuss these with your ITM web designer in advance to ensure that the project can be completed within your desired timeframe.

It all depends on you.

In practice ITM is capable of developing your website as quickly as it takes for you to provide us with your content text and pictures. This can take anything between a few days for a simple website or a few months for more complex website developments. We use Rapid Application Development Software tools to greatly speed up development of the website design software. With 25 years of experience, we have also built up an extensive software library to meet many user case scenarios.

Our record is 10 hours!

eCommerce websites by their nature can take much longer because it takes time to gather the content. If we have a complete sitemap structure and all the content, we can give you a more accurate estimate.

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  • Freelance Designers: They typically charge between R1200 and R1600 per hour. A new business website can cost between R100,000 and R200,000.
  • DIY Website Builders: These are a more budget-friendly option, with prices ranging from R120 to R6000 per month for platforms like Shopify and Wix.
  • Small Business Websites: Costs range from R20,000 to R120,000+, depending on the complexity and functionality required​​​​.

ITM have one of the most competitive rates in the industry because we are focused on developing long term relationships with our clients.

In addition we use Rapid Application Development Software tools to greatly speed up development of the website design.

Accordingly, by far the majority of your marketing budget can be allocated to the digital marketing of your website - online business - rather than to the actual development of the website.

The costs of web design are escalated by the following factors:

Website Design - Custom website design is a time consuming development task, made more so by the need to make sure that the design actually works well in Mobile Responsive Design.
Website Development - Custom website software development is also time consuming. Quality website design requires application software.
Project creep - when the specification for the website development changes after the project has commenced.
Third Party Software - can be expensive, but mostly well-worth the investment

See ITM Web Design Prices. The Express website design package includes EVERYTHING you need for a great website and includes ALL the tools for a great website marketing solution. If you are looking to do it right from the start then the Express package is what you need.

The DNN Software CMS has a modular design and allows you to add functionality and applications as your website develops over time.

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Flash, once a popular technology for building interactive websites and animations, is no longer used for web development. Adobe officially discontinued support for Flash on December 31, 2020, and all major web browsers have phased out support for Flash content. This decision was driven by several factors:

  1. Security Vulnerabilities: Flash was frequently criticized for its security vulnerabilities, which posed risks to users and systems.

  2. Performance Issues: Flash content often suffered from performance issues, particularly on mobile devices, which led to poor user experiences.

  3. Advancements in Web Standards: Modern web technologies like HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript have become the standard for creating interactive and multimedia experiences on the web. These technologies are more secure, perform better, and are natively supported by browsers without needing an additional plugin.

  4. Mobile Device Compatibility: The rise of mobile internet usage also contributed to Flash's decline. Flash was not supported on iOS and had limited support on Android, making it unsuitable for a mobile-first approach in web design.

Because of these reasons, developers no longer use Flash for building websites. Instead, they rely on more modern, efficient, and secure web technologies that are better suited to today's internet environment. If you encounter a website that still requires Flash, it's likely very outdated and not functioning properly on most devices.

While many designers prefer WordPress due to its flexibility and ease of use, it is not the only option. Other CMS platforms are also widely used depending on the project's requirements.

We prefer DNN Software, but we have web development resources for other CMS platforms.

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Responsive web design ensures that your website adapts to different screen sizes, providing an optimal viewing experience across various devices like smartphones, tablets, and desktops​​​.

ITM build websites in responsive design, specifically mobile-first design. Get a Quote

Most web design firms offer ongoing support and maintenance services. It’s advisable to discuss long-term support options with your web designer.

ITM provides ongoing support contracts. Get a Quote

Please provide the following:

  • Large high quality logo in transparent PNG format
  • Corporate Identity if available
  • Website domain(s) and email accounts to be used for website communications
  • About section – who, what, where, when, experience set
  • Pages required and page content for all pages
  • A few Blog Posts 
  • Full contact details (Physical, Postal, Telephone, Facsimile? Email, Mobile)
  • Images for the site including images for a gallery
  • Document downloads in PDF format
  • Credentials, qualifications, compliance, admissions details
  • Social Network pages – FB, TW, Instagram, Linkedin etc including adding ITM as administrators on these business pages - Add [email protected] & [email protected]

Any other suggestions or questions are welcome. If you have a colour scheme in mind please let us have this. All text content and website imagery that you can provide will be welcome. If you have brochures, sales pamphlets and other material please make sure we get to see and receive these as soon as possible.

For e-commerce applications we’ll need complete product information and high resolution original quality images for all products.

We regard the content you provide as merely a start because content has to be continually developed and refined.

Our Digital Marketing Service includes:

  • All your content will be edited to better express the SEM objectives of your business online
  • We’ll also make every effort to understand your business completely and therefore be able to draft quality, relevant content for your site
  • We’ll make sure that all relevant keywords are integrated into your website content
  • We draft quality content for your news blogs.

Website builders are user-friendly online platforms that allow creation of website design without needing to code. They are suitable for various types of websites, including e-commerce and general purpose brochure websites​. There are a number of great platforms such as shopify, squarespace and wix. There are limitations on the customisation available, and functionality is limited to what is provided.

If you are not design oriented then you may struggle to get the desired effect you want from the website builder. Get a Quote from ITM, it may be worth your while to get us to build the website on our platform for you.

CMS stands for Content Management System. It allows you to manage digital content on your website without needing extensive knowledge in web programming or web development. Examples include WordPress, Joomla, Shopify, and DNN Software.

ITM website design use DNN Software because we believe it is superior in many ways, specifically with regard to security, usability and scalability. Ask us for a demo.

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“Above the fold” refers to the part of a web page visible before scrolling. It's crucial for making a first impression, as it's the first thing a user sees when visiting a site​