First read this page on website design. When
you're done, if you'd like some more ideas, click on over to our
website templates and design ideas
page, where you can see some actual website design ideas.
Website Design
On this page I'm going to talk about some
Do's and Don'ts of website design.
As a website designer in NH, this is one subject I'm
passionate about. So please, bear with me if I start to
ramble on a bit. I want to share as much useful website design information
as possible (without boring you to death) but when it comes to the
topic of designing websites, I could talk for hours.
So let's begin...
For starters, I believe you're website design
should represent your personal or business philosophy, your values,
and the overall "look and feel" of who you are (or who you want to
be)
When people see your website for the first time,
they're going to get an instant impression of you and your
business... What do you want them to see?
Take this website design for example... When I
designed this website, I wanted it to be simple, crisp, and elegant.
The black background represents authority. And it also takes away
some of the eye strain you might get, from looking at a bright white
monitor, while trying to read what's in front of you.
What values does it represent..? The values of
authority, or someone who knows what they're doing. It also shows my
concern for your comfort (reduced eye strain while you're reading)
Then, I wanted to give you something a
bit more entertaining to look at, so I added a few flash banners to the pages.
What's the philosophy behind this..? To give you
quality information, from the words you're reading, but not bore
you with a static website design that has nothing but words on the page.
Finally, I put all the main navigation
links in the same place on every page (Left hand side of page) This
is so you'll know exactly where to find the links, no matter which
page you're on.
I also sprinkled a few links throughout the text, so
if you want more information about something, you can click on the
link, and move on to whatever you're interested in.
So, what do you want to impress your website
visitors with?
Do you want a corporate presence that's all
business..? Or do you want a website that shows you're
an honest person, with hometown values (and not just a faceless
corporation)..? Or perhaps you want to show people you're a fun
loving person, with a sense of humor..? Maybe you just want a
website to showcase your hobbies, talents, or personal opinions..?
There are nearly as many answers to this
question as there are people reading this page right now.
So give it
a little thought, because (like it or not) when people visit your
website, they're going to make an impression of you and your
business. It's up to you to decide what you want that impression to
be.
My main philosophy is to keep it simple.
There are some large corporate
websites on the internet that are very complex (and often very confusing to
navigate) and most of the visitors they receive, click away without
buying anything.
This is fine, if you have hundreds of thousands of
dollars to spend, driving huge amounts of traffic to your website. (If
10,000 people a day are visiting your site, you don't mind when only
1 out of every 200 actually make a purchase. You'll still make 50
sales a day)
But for us mere mortals, who only
see a few hundred visitors a day, we'd much rather have a higher
rate of conversion from our websites.
You also don't want to make your website design too
cluttered or too distracting. Tons
of animated pictures or flashing banners may look cool, but your
visitors will become distracted, and possibly forget why they came to
your site in the first place. Which would you rather have... A
website design that shows off all the latest technology (and
clutter) the internet can offer? Or a website design that makes it
easier for your visitors to do business with you?
Also, too many moving images makes your website
load much slower, so some visitors may click away before they ever
see your website pages at all (No one wants to grow old waiting for
a website to load)
Pop up windows are another thing... One pop up
is O.K. (to present a special offer or an email sign up form). But you
don't want more than one on any page, and make sure your visitors
can close it immediately if they want to.
Those pop up windows that
block out part of the page, and won't let you close them for a
certain amount of time, only irritate most people. And if you
irritate your visitors... they're going to click away from your
website, and never come back.
So when your thinking about what kind of website
you'd like us to build for you, keep in mind who your building your
web presence for... your visitors.
Keeping your website easy to navigate
is
one of the most important aspects of a good website design. If your
visitors get confused looking for something on your website,
they're going to click away from your site and look somewhere else.
We live in an attention deficit society, and
most people want instant results from their inquiries. If you don't
give it to them, they're going to look elsewhere.
For example... If your website is selling shoes,
your visitors are looking for one of two things (maybe
both)... They're looking for information about shoes, or they're
looking to buy a pair of shoes... You want them to be able to find
both of those things quickly.
If someone has to click 5 or 6 different
links, and go through a maze of website pages, just to find a pair
of size 8 jogging shoes, they're going to get frustrated, and you'll
never make a sale.
You also need a website design that will easily
allow the search engines to navigate your website, so they can index
it in their search listings. (You do want your website to show up in
the search engines, don't you?)
But what about Flash websites?
It's true... Flash websites represent some of the latest
technology in website design... They move and flow, and
they can make your visitors say "WOW, NEAT WEBSITE".
But full flash
websites are difficult for search engines to index, because
search engines only read HTML code and page text. If the search
engines can't tell what your website is about, they'll have a difficult time indexing your website for your particular keywords.
I do like the look of Flash websites, and if you'd like me
to build you one, then we also need to talk about
off page website promotion.
Now don't get me wrong... Big flashy websites
are a designers dream. It gives us a chance to really get creative
with flash animations, dynamic pop up windows, and auto loading
video clips. but they can often be very confusing to navigate, and
they can also be very distracting to your visitors.
If your visitors get too distracted by all the
flash animations, they will often get confused or frustrated, and
possibly even irritated. Remember... irritating your website
visitors is one of the quickest ways to get them to leave your
website in a hurry.
Don't believe me about keeping your website
design clean and visitor friendly? Then check out some of these
worst
websites ever and you'll see some examples of what NOT to do
when designing your website.
How about pure CSS websites?
CSS websites are another up and coming website
technology. There are many CSS evangelists who would have you
believe it's the only way to go.
CSS websites use an external file (CSS file),
instead of tables, for the look of your website layout. Many people
believe they give a more consistent look for a website when viewed
through different web browsers (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari,
etc.)
But CSS websites also have their limitations. In particular, when it
comes to centering certain fonts and images on the page.
Besides... table layouts, when done properly,
will also give you a consistent look through all major web browsers.
CSS websites also allow you to globally change
the look of your website by editing a single file instead of
changing each page individually. This is great if you want to
continually make changes to your website design, but if you already have a website
design you're happy with, then this point isn't really necessary.
Also, if you want to have different headers, or fonts, or images, on
different pages, then you'll need to access each page of your
website one-at-a-time anyway.
The final argument for CSS websites is they tend
to load the pages a little bit quicker. Once the CSS file has been
cached in your web browser, your browser doesn't need to reload the
page layout for each page you visit. This point has some validity,
but not as much as some people would lead you to believe. How fast
did this page load for you? This website was created using tables
and cells. If I had created this website using CSS, this page would
have only loaded about one second faster (assuming you had already
visited another page before visiting this one)
What about PHP websites?
PHP websites are the only real way to go if you
want a dynamic database driven website, (like a full e-commerce
store, or a community website, or a blog or Joomla site. Basically
any website where you want to keep your visitors information, so they
can log into an area of your site with their name and password. Or
if you want to allow your visitors to leave comments on your website).
But PHP websites tend to load slower than
standard HTML websites. So if you simply want a fast loading
website, to bring your business to the internet, HTML is the way to
go. You can still sell products and services from an HTML website, but
they don't have to go through a database to retrieve any
information.
On the other hand, if you do want a database
driven website, just let me know, and we can build you a dynamic
website that uses PHP and MYSQL databases.
This whole process can be a bit of a challenge, trying to
establish a web presence that will be up to date with modern
technologies... one that will easily be indexed by the search engines... and one that will also be simple enough to allow your
visitors to make the decision of doing business with you. We offer
you a full line of
website
development services to help you get your web presence off to a
great start.
So if you need some help, just fill out the
contact form on our
website prices
page (it's not the same form as the bottom of all our other pages.
The one on our prices page goes into a bit more detail about what
you're looking for) And don't worry, just filling out the form
doesn't mean you have to buy anything.
Or, if you just want a few ideas, click on over
to our
website templates page. We have a number of basic website
templates for you to look at that may give you a
starting point for your website design.
If you see one you like, let us know. From
there, we'll customize it with your personal pictures,
color choices, web copy, and any other features you'd like to have.
When we're finished, you'll have a website
design you'll be happy with, because you helped us design it.
We'll do all the work, and you'll take pride knowing you contributed
to the creative side of designing your website.
Your finished website will
NOT be a cookie cutter template. The templates are only here to give
you a few basic ideas as a starting point.
So there you have it... My basics for a quality
website design.
I could go on for another hour, but this page is
already getting a bit long. (in fact... This page used to be
nearly twice as long) But then my friends and family told me you
might not be as enthusiastic as I am about the topic. So I shortened
it up a bit. The hard part was editing the content without leaving
out some of the things I wanted to say.
In summary...
The design of your website says a lot about you
and your company.
A clean efficient website design tells your
visitors you run a clean, efficient business. By contrast, a
cluttered or confusing website tells your visitors you're cluttered and confusing.
If your visitors can't understand your website,
or if they can't easily navigate your website, then they'll probably
click away as soon as they arrive.
So when you're ready for us to get started
creating a custom website design (for your business, or
for your own personal use) just fill out our contact form and we'll give you a FREE consultation
explaining the process. We won't try to sell you
anything, we'll just go over your options with you, so you can make
your own informed decision.
The main point I want you to understand is this...
We live in a new world, full of unlimited
possibilities . And if you've ever wanted to express yourself to a large audience, or if
you have a business you're trying to run, you now have an incredible
opportunity to do so... but
You need to have a website!
Original article by Steven Rubin. Co-founder and
ranking partner of SARubin-websites.com - Helping you bring your vision to the world.
