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How to design your website for optimal productivity
What works best when promoting your web site.
Eight Simple, Yet Essential, Web Design Principles
As the internet evolves from its infancy into maturity, website
development, design and marketing becomes more and more
sophisticated - and more and more complex. Content manipulation,
various scripting methods, fancy graphics and effects... and on
and on... allow us to create some impressive web sites.
A good gauge of this complexity is the a slew of new
internet-related acronyms which popup on a consistent basis.
Heck, I don't know what half of them mean. But one acronym I do
know - and it's not an internet creation - is nevertheless key
to the development and design of any successful business
website. Perhaps you've heard of it - K.I.S.S. As you probably
know, it stands for 'Keep It Simple, Stupid!'. And it's a
methodology widely employed by the best web developers,
designers and marketers in the business. A philosophy that
provides the foundation for all successful revenue-generating
web sites.
From the largest, multi-product online business conglomerate to
the one-page one-product mini-site, the purpose is the same.
Provide visitors, whether internet savvy or first time surfers,
with an online experience that's fast, efficient, easy to
understand - and dare I say it... yes, enjoyable.
Whether your an entrepreneur building your own web site, or
reviewing one built for you by a web development and design
expert, it is important your web site, your online business,
adheres to these eight simple, yet essential, design principles.
Heed them, and online success is sure to follow. Ignore them, at
your peril. Here they are.
Each web page must have a purpose - and that purpose must be
clearly stated. While a consistent design 'look and feel' is
vital across all pages of your web site, each page has a
specific function to perform. And that function should be
clearly understood by all visitors to your web site. Whether
it's to elicit feedback, provide feedback, promote your company,
present product information, etc., all play a role in your
ultimate goal of growing your business.
Navigation around and through your business web site must be
clearly visible and easy to use. See my article on web site
navigation for more details.
Avoid distraction and clutter by minimizing usage of fancy
flashing and moving objects, which provide more sizzle than
steak, and make your essential products or services harder to
find.
All business websites should have contact information clearly
visible. A 'Contact' page is minimum. It's also advisable to
include contact information on every page of your web site. You
never know when the urge to turn from prospect to customer will
strike your visitor.
Not everyone has
broadband. Yes, there are still a fair number
of users surfing the internet with slower, less efficient,
dial-up access. That may change in the future, but it's a
reality today. Ignore this substantial customer base and you're
business will surely suffer. To avoid this pitfall, pay careful
attention to eliminate internet-clogging elements on your web
site. When possible, use text instead of graphics, static
graphics instead of animation, several smaller pages instead of
one large page. Do this and you can feed quite well on the
desertions from your flashier competitors.
For those who are broadband users, who are not negatively
effected by all those 'bells and whistles', who may actually
enjoy such an impressive display, remember, 'form follows
function'. This is especially important on a business web site,
where functionality is key. All else is fluff and distraction.
For those of us who may be 'visually challenged, make sure your
web site is easy to see. Avoid fancy fonts and use the more
legible standard-bearers, such as Times New Roman, Courier New,
Arial and Verdana. For standard text, use font sizes of at least
10 pt... 12 pt is better. On many a web site, font sizes of 8 pt
or less are used, perhaps in an effort to avoid the need to
scroll. Let me tell you... it's much better to scroll than to
squint. For when I squint, I usually stroll... right out of the
site. It's also a good practice to limit the use of italics as
they too are harder to read. Lastly, pay attention to text and
background color. Although white text on a black background
looks cool at first glance, it can quickly strain the eyes. You
don't want to do anything that will cut your visitor's journey
through your business web site..
Whenever possible, limit page lengths to no more than two
page-downs. It is better for performance (page loading) and
visitor attention when pages are short, quick reads. If
necessary, breakup your text into multiple pages, with a
'continued' designation at the bottom of each page.
There you go. Eight simple, yet essential, web site design
principles that can spell the difference between online business
success or failure. Always remember, you're never more than
one-click away from visitor abandonment. K.I.S.S. your website
and it will reward you abundantly.
About the author:
Alan Richardson is a well-known internet consultant and
publisher with http://www.optimalwebservices.com - a Web
resource firm in North Easton, Massachusetts, offering free
advice and information for web-based small businesses and
entrepreneurs.
To read other articles by Alan, click
http://www.optimalwebservices.com/articles
To signup for the free 'Optimal Web Services for Small Business'
ezine, click http://www.optimalwebservices.
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