It will offer consistency while providing useful, quality information that is attractive to the eye and easy to understand. A well designed site will lead your viewers to the starting point and direct them through your site without confusing them.
While there are many ways to design a website there are a few basic design principles that will help you create a site that is user friendly and attractive.
1. Use lots of white or empty space.
Don't feel that because you have a whole screen you need to fill it up with 'stuff'. Your page should follow a clean outline. Include your site name at the very top. Below that, list the subject of your page followed by information on your topic. Leave adequate space between each section.
Don't cram a lot of pictures and ads on your site. If you have an ad, keep it off to the side or subtly intersperse it between your text. The idea is not to overwhelm your reader with a lot of advertisements.
It's best to keep your text on a white background. If you do choose a colored background be careful that your text doesn't blend into the background making it difficult to read.
2. Don't use animation and flashing objects.
As advertisers we feel the need to get our viewers attention. This is important but we need to do it gracefully. Flashing objects and scrolling images distract your visitors and take away from the content. If your product is better demonstrated
with animation, music or some other multi-media, allow your viewer to select the option. Don't force it on them.
3. Include an 'about' link.
Allow your viewers to find out about who you are and what you are about. Include a biography and some background on why you are in the business you're in or why you created your website. By helping them to get to know you, they will find it easier to develop a trust. If they can like you and trust you, they will feel a lot better about doing business with you.
Always include your business address, phone number and email address. This also lets viewers know that you welcome contact and are serious about your business.
4. Include a 'Privacy' Link
Reassure your visitors that you follow privacy guidelines by including a 'Privacy' page. This is particularly important if you are collecting names and email addresses. Visitors want to know that you will not sell or give away their information.
In these days of rampant spam, your privacy policy needs to be prominently displayed. Many viewers and business partners won't do business with you unless you have it.
5. Always keep your links in blue.
Internet surfers have long been accustomed to seeing links in blue. It's simply an expectation that viewers have. There's certainly no law that says your links must be blue, but people prefer consistency, therefore it's good practice to keep your links consistent and recognizable. If they're not, you may lose out on clicks.
6. Keep navigation consistent
The navigation scheme you create on your index page should be done the same way throughout your site. Don't force your viewers to relearn each page of your site. Keep your navigation bars, colors and fonts consistent for each page.
7. Use Understandable buttons and links.
Title your links appropriately. Don't use cute or misleading names. For example, if you have a link to 'cameras' don't label the link 'hotshots', label it 'Cameras'. Your viewers don't want to waste time figuring out what things are. Be clear with your text or you could risk losing your visitor.
8. Focus on the 'YOU', not the 'ME'.
Make it obviously clear to your readers that you are in business for them. Encourage feedback, provide useful information and keep advertisements to a minimum. Your objective should be focused on what you can do for your reader? Convince them that your main interest is how you can deliver what it is they're looking for?
9. Make sure your page loads fast.
If viewers have to wait for a page to load they will click elsewhere. If a page doesn't load in 8 seconds you could lose 1/3 of your visitors. Here's a great free tool to help you check your website's load time:
http://www.1-hit.com/all-in-one/tool.loading-time-checker.htm
10. Use a site map.
A site map will give visitors a "guide" on viewing your site,especially with larger sites. it's a road map for your visitors to follow. Sitemaps are also popular with search engines and are often recommended to help ensure indexing.
About the Author
Elizabeth McGee has spent 20 years in the service and support industry. She has moved her expertise to the world wide web helping businesses find trusted tools, enhance customer service, build confidence and increase sales. You can contact Elizabeth at mail@pro-marketing-online.com or visit her website at http://www.pro-marketing-online.com
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Why have you got a website?
by Lesley Morrissey http://www.insidenews.co.uk/
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Make your website work
This may seem an obvious question, but it's amazing how many people can't answer it! Those who can answer say things like, 'to send people to find out more about our company' and 'to get people to buy our products (or services)'.
This means that the visitor needs to be engaged quickly or they'll leave. We're all really impatient when we're online -- watch anyone waiting for a webpage to download and see their fingers tap if it takes longer than a couple of seconds! If your visitor doesn't 'get' what you do quickly, they won't invest much time in trying to work it out.
It's important to have a professional design, but equally important that the key messages are not only big enough to attract attention, but also in the right place. We don't start reading at the top of the screen start paying attention around a third of the way down. That's where the headline needs to go.
It's no good having a stunning headline if it's in 14 point bold -- it will simply disappear into the page. Big, bold and focused on the reason your visitor has come to your site. Ask them a question or indicate that there is something useful on the site that will solve their particular problem.
So not: 'We've got the lowest cost products online' But 'Are you working to a tight budget?'
Remember the copy needs to be focused on the reader -- look at the number of statements that you have that say 'We can do . . . ', 'We supply . . . ', 'We are dedicated . . . '. Can you spin them around so that they say 'You can have . . . ', 'You'll receive . . . ,' 'You'll experience a real dedication to . . . '?
You must know what you want each page to do. If you think you're going to get them to contact you from your home page, you're probably being somewhat ambitious! When you want people to take action -- tell them what to do and make it easy for them to do it -- use a hyperlink to take them where you want them to go; don't expect them to scroll back to the menu.
If you get your messages right, your headlines engage the reader and your calls to action are in the right places, your website will help your business to grow.
http://www.insidenews.co.uk/
A Website Checklist
If you've just finished building your new website (or revamping your old one), how can you be sure it's "ready for prime time"? Or maybe your site's been around for awhile and you think it may be due for a makeover. Because Web technologies, techniques and standards change so rapidly, even a website that seems "cutting edge" when it's built can look obsolete a year later. Or maybe you started out with a barebones website and finally have the time and/or money to take it to the next level. If you'd to give your website the once over, here are ten aspects you should consider:
Compatibility: Will your website display correctly for most people regardless of their computer hardware, operating system, browser and monitor resolution? Make sure your site renders properly for as many users as possible. If any features of your website require certain browser plug-ins, provide a download link. Remember that not everyone will have Javascript enabled and that graphics can be turned off by the user; make sure your site will still work without them.
Completeness: None of your website should be "Under Construction". Websites tend to evolve over time and are never truly "finished", but that's no reason for your website look like a construction zone. If you must include pages that aren't completed, at least put some informative content on the page to motivate people to check back later. Otherwise leave out the section altogether until it's ready for prime time.
Content: Do you need to update the text on your site? Have you added services, expanded your product line, targeted new markets, or changed your business strategy? Is your website's description of your company current and accurate, including your contact information? Could the content be written more clearly, convincingly, or succinctly? Could your website be more informative, helpful, interesting or relevant? Would customer testimonials or an FAQ section strengthen your sales message? Check all of your site content for incorrect grammar, spelling errors and typos.
Graphics: Do your graphics contribute to or detract from your website? A website with no graphics would be uninteresting, but a site with too many graphics, animations, and different fonts is overwhelming and distracts from your sales message. The trick is to find the right balance. Use animations sparingly, especially those that "loop" (play over and over). They can easily become annoying and distract from your sales message. Remember that banner ads count as graphics, too, and one or two per page is plenty.
Interactivity: You might consider making your site interactive by adding a mailing list, message board, poll, ezine or guest book. A contest or trivia quiz can attract visitors and bring them back more often. Rotating content like a joke, quote, or tip of the day keeps your website interesting. Don't feel obliged to add all the latest bells and whistles just because you can, but ask yourself whether some advanced features might give your website the edge. If you don't want to provide the content yourself, check into content available from syndicators (just keep it relevant to your target market and your other site content).
Links: Are all the links on your website working? First make sure any links between pages on your site are directing site visitors to the correct page. Check all of your links to other websites, too; the webmaster may have renamed the page or removed it altogether, and those dead links will make your site look unprofessional and frustrate your site visitors. If you've removed some of the pages from your own site, set up a custom 404 page that redirects your visitors to your home page (or a search page) when they try to access a page that no longer exists.
Speed: Does your site load quickly enough in the viewer's browser? The "Eight Second Rule" is a good rule of thumb, meaning no site visitor should have to wait longer than eight seconds to view the opening page of your website. After eight seconds have elapsed, chances are good the viewer will give up and go elsewhere. If you have graphics or animations that take awhile to download, provide some engaging content to hold their interest while they wait. Adding graphic elements always comes at a cost in terms of slower loading times, so only include graphics if they really contribute to visual impact of your website and strengthen your sales message.
Navigation: Is it easy to find information on your site? The opening page should tell visitors, at a glance, who you are, what you do, and how to find what they're looking for. From there your visitors should be able to follow a logical path to learn more about various aspects of your business. If you list products or services on your site, organize them in a logical way. If you decide to use graphic icons instead of text, make sure their meaning is obvious. Make it easy for your site visitors to find what they came for.
Search engine optimization: Is your website optimized to rank for important keywords in the most popular search engines? Double check your page titles and meta tag keywords and descriptions to make sure they are accurate and descriptive. Did you work your keywords into the actual page content as well (including variations)? Is your website focused on a specific theme, and do you have plenty of informative content related to that theme? Is your website spider-friendly (meaning search engine spiders can access every page and read the most important content from the source code)?
Style: Is your website's style consistent with your business goals? Ask yourself what you want your business image to be, and make sure your website enhances that image. Is your company's style polished? Friendly? Trendy? High tech? The look and feel of your site should reflect that style. Does your website still compare favorably with those of your competitors? Your website should reflect favorably on your business and help you to build your corporate image. If yours doesn't, maybe it's due for a makeover.
Usability: Usability refers to how easily site visitors can use your site. The best measure of usability is feedback from users -the people who visit and try to navigate the site. If you have received complaints, comments, questions, or suggestions from site visitors, change your site accordingly. Of course, dissatisfied customers won't always let you know. That's why you should also analyze your Web logs to see whether visitors quickly abandon certain pages or don't visit some of your pages at all. Think in terms of building pathways through your site that visitors can follow. A well-designed website leads visitors deeper into the site without frustrating or confusing them and doesn't lose them along the way.
Jane McLain is a Web developer and SEO specialist and the webmaster of EClaunchsite.com, an online resource center for netrepreneurs with tools and information to help you plan, build, launch and grow your e-business.
