Most people think that website design and development are the same thing. There not!  Many people think that website design and development are done together.  They should be!  Unfortunately, proper development/coding it's not always done when a site is created.  Fortunately,  proper development can take place after the design, and the design can be changed after the development.  That's the beauty of the Internet and website marketing.  You can always change your look, message and site development.  That's good.  Because you will never get it perfect every time.  The Internet is always changing, and you have to be ready and willing to change with it.     

     Most web designers/developers assume that the customer is the reader.  Wrong! It's a bit like assuming the customer for an old people's home is the resident - it isn't-- it's the residents' 45 year old daughter. Therefore sell to her and the place is full.  The main customer for a web site is the "robots" or "bots" or whatever the search engine "spider" is called. Observe it, profile it, get to know it intimately, what does it like and loathe. How can you get its attention?  This is what separates a website designer from a website developer.

     Your will get strong opposing arguments for and against the use of <KEYWORDS> and/or <META-TAGS> and <TITLE TAGS>.  The bottom line, if you support the meta-tags and keywords in your copy, then the use of those "tags" will only help your site get (and not hurt your site) more favorable positioning in a search request or inquiry.  When a Search engine is asked for information, and it has two identical sites to present.  It will always present the site with the most relevant and accurate keywords which are supported by the copy.

   Proper site development and keyword usage has become a very specific science and profession all it's own when it comes to marketing your website.  Don't let anyone create or set your keywords.  You, the business owner/operator should provide a list of the top most 20 relevant words that describe your product/service.  And most importantly, be sure that the developer of your site, uses those words accurately, by supporting them with the copy on the front of each page.

     Remember, people will not see your website until the Search engines and directories do!

      In addition to proper coding, a good developer will use <alt tags> in the graphics and pictures.  The reason for this is twofold.  First, search engines can't see graphics or pictures, but they can read words.  And using words in the <alt tag> description, will provide more relevancy toward the specific theme or topic that is associated with your website.  Also, have you ever notice the little captions that appear on the pictures or websites?  That's another reason to use <alt tags>  You can tell your website visitor just a little bit more about your product/service.

     These are just a few the many principles and theories that must be implemented in your website code for website to be successful.  A good website developer will stay on top of the constant changes that take place each and every month in the Search engine and Directory industry.