![]() | |
![]() |
11 Steps to Sticky Web Site!
An attractive and user-friendly Web site is crucial to attracting prospects and holding their interest. Seems obvious, yet poor design and even more poorly written content clutter the Web. The basics of a good web site are simple. Generally, if the purpose of your web site is to convey information, the emphasis should be on clear navigation and engaging text. If however, your purpose is to showcase a portfolio or develop a brand identity, then it will be more appropriate to limit the amount of text, and concentrate on the graphics. However you define the purpose of your web site, following a few basic guidelines will keep your web site user-friendly. Keep It Simple. This is the most important rule of Web site design. Keeping things straightforward from a user's perspective requires some thought and planning. If people find it difficult to get into or move around your site, they may not stay for the show. Ditto if you make it difficult for them to contact you or place an order. A little research into what your visitors will be looking for when they click on your Web site will help keep them happy. Make Your Links Clear. An important part of keeping it simple is making your links clear. If you use icons or pictures for your links, be sure to give them text titles. It may sound boring, but your site visitors don't want to waste their time trying to guess where to go next. Also, make sure that your links are easily visible. Don't make your visitors have to scroll across to find them. Typically, links are found across the top of the page, or vertically arranged on the left. Use Straightforward Navigation. Make sure your visitors always know where they are by providing a navigation bar or map on every page. Also, try to arrange your information so that it is never more three clicks away. Make it easy for your visitors to find what they're looking for, and to get around your site. Tell Them What to Do. Web users like to know what's expected of them. If you want them to order your product, sign up for a newsletter, or contact you - tell them. And then give them an easy way to do it. Give 'em What They're Looking For! Your home page should include enough information about your site to let your visitor know they have found what they're looking for. Nothing annoys users more than wading through click-thru's, only to find that you don't have the information or product they're seeking. Clear, engaging, value-driven content is essential to your web site's success. Lame language and garbled grammar will ruin your professional image. Minimize Download Times. Big graphics, flashy animation, intricate images - they all take time to download. Take care when using whistles and bells. Again, consider your typical visitor. Will they have access to the latest technology? Or will they be dialing up from their rinky-dink home desktop? All the flash technology in the world won't impress your visitors if they don't stick around until the page loads. Use Images Sparingly. Images are a great way to add some pizzazz to a Web site. Too many, however, can detract from your site's appearance or message, and they can make your site slow to load. Try using images that support and add value to your text, not as a substitute for information. Remember too, that although JEPG files are better for photographs, GIF files are quicker to download. Avoid Unnecessary Forms. This is especially relevant for e-commerce sites, but applies equally to subscription forms for anything. Long forms complicate the ordering process, and prospects may not be willing to fill in what they see as unnecessary details. Color. Use color with restraint in your Web site design. Too many colors may make your site look garish and incoherent. Stick to two or three complimentary colors to make a better impression. The same goes for textured or colored backgrounds. Often such backgrounds make text difficult to read, for example, a light blue background with yellow text or a black background with light blue text is virtually unreadable. (Don't laugh! I've seen 'em both.) Text. Different browsers support different fonts, and not all the same ones. So that unusual lettering that you think looks so good as your font choice, may show up as indecipherable gobbledy-gook on your visitor's screen. But all is not lost. There are a few fonts (called "true type" fonts) that are common to all browsers. The ones most commonly used are Times New Roman, Ariel, Helvetica, and Verdana (which was designed specifically for the Web). Also, allow plenty of "white space" on the page. Spaces give readers a visual break, and allow them to focus more fully on separate elements of the page. Following these simple guidelines, or using them as a checklist for your existing web site, will save you time and money. More importantly, your site visitors will feel understood and appreciated. And that's a good thing! ©Copyright 2004. Collette Gillian dba bestWriter4U.com. All rights reserved. About The Author Collette Gillian is a copywriter specializing in Web content and Web copy with an emphasis on usability and results. She also helps her clients optimize the content of their Web sites to improve search engine positioning. Visit http://www.bestwriter4u.com for more helpful articles and information.
MORE RESOURCES: PROFESSIONAL WEB DESIGN SERVICES - SIPPICAN DIGITAL Sippican Week Designing with Intelligence: AI in Web Development Touro University Site.pro Unveils One-Input AI Website Builder for Effortless Web Design The Cornwall Seeker Rate my website SitePoint Webflow vs. WordPress: I Built on Both to See Who Wins Learn Hub | G2 Unveiling the invisible hand: how AI is reshaping web design UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media FANUC America's Cobot and Go web tool Aerospace Manufacturing and Design Web Pacific Lutheran University 2/6/25 – EXPLORE OUTDOOR HAWAI‘I SITE WINS WEB DESIGN GOLD Department of Land and Natural Resources - Hawaii (.gov) Web Design and Development Muskegon Community College Digital Silk Shows How Chicago's Manufacturing Industry is Modernizing Through Strategic Web Design Yahoo Finance 18 Best Tech Website Designs in 2025 DesignRush For the first time, Generația Tech expands nationwide: a new edition launches on May 15, offering 1,500 scholarships business-review.eu 8 Best Apps for Web Designers in 2025 DesignRush ChatGPT was tasked with designing a website. The result was as manipulative as you'd expect Fast Company 11 Best Minimalist Websites for 2025 DesignRush The Smarter Web Company sets out 10-year growth plan and Bitcoin strategy - Proactive financial news The Smarter Web Company sets out 10-year growth plan and Bitcoin strategy Proactive financial news Essential Web Design Principles NYC Businesses Must Embrace in 2025-Insights from Digital Silk Newsfile Digital Silk Predicts How Los Angeles Creative Brands Will Use Immersive Web Design in 2025 Yahoo Finance 11 Best Interactive Website Designs in 2025 DesignRush Web 3.0 And The Evolution Of Website Design: What You Need To Know Harlem World Magazine 16 Best Modern Website Designs of the Moment DesignRush FAB Renovations Website Design Analysis DesignRush AXIONSEO Web Design Agency Now Offers e-Comm Services Across Greece NORTHEAST - NEWS CHANNEL NEBRASKA Top 10 Front End Languages: A Beginner's Guide Simplilearn.com Web Design Statistics By UI/UX, Market Size, Web Development, Industry and Demographics Coolest Gadgets 10 Best Medical Website Designs (2025) DesignRush Know How to Add CSS to HTML with Examples Simplilearn.com The Quake's Website Design Analysis DesignRush Digital Agencies Can Now Earn 20% Commission Through GoDaddy's New Exclusive Partner Program Stock Titan Best website design service of 2024 TechRadar 5 Upcoming Web Design Trends for 2022 SitePoint Ogilvy Website Design: The Full Analysis DesignRush Revolutionizing Web Design: How Squarespace's Design Intelligence AI Empowers Creators Boy Genius Report Web Development | Website Design for Yachting Companies Yachting Pages Grink Website Design Analysis DesignRush The Opportunity Agenda Web Design Analysis DesignRush |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
RELATED ARTICLES
Website Promotion Ideas: 10 Tips On How To Use Your Picture Effectively To Increase Your Sales Seeing is believing.One trick to increase your visibility as well as your credibility is to use your photo at your website. Through The Looking Glass My mother used to take me along when she visited an old ladydown a cobbled lane who had a crystal ball on her dining roomtable and a pack of playing cards. My mother was superstitiousand really believed a lot of what she was told by the old lady. Top Ten Absolutely Free Websites for Downloading Cool Fonts The following list of websites is the best compilation of sites on the web where you can download many different fonts totally free. Also, there are a variety of different types of fonts and styles you can download from the following sites so start searching today. 12 Essential Web Site Design Tips 1. What's the purpose?The most fundamental thing to do before designing your web site is to define its purpose. Why Use Professional Web Site Designers For Your Next Web Development Project? Probably you know someone who has created a web site all by himself or herself. So if they can do it why use a professional at all? Can't you create your own business or organization's web site in your spare time and without the services of a professional web site designer? The answer is probably, yes. Maximising Web Site Viewability - Resolution This is my second article on maximising web site viewability. Analysing screen resolution data. Increasing Conversions Through Action-Oriented Copywriting I do site reviews. Needless to say, I see a lot of Web copy. Digitalize It! : (Modification of images with tools such as Adobe CS and Corel) Then it was a choice among crayons, paints and palettes for an artist and designer to create art. It was a box of crayons that make one happy designer during his early years of formation. Designing Your Websites Directory Structure Any kid, and their grandmother too, can make a webpage. There are many "wysiwyg" webpage design applications that let you create a webpage as easy as typing text. How Your Business Can Win Online There are lots of websites out there that do little to encourage their customers to stick around or buy their products from them. In this article i'm going to show you a typical example of where a small company has gone wrong with its website. 10 Reasons Why You Need A Multilingual Website The internet continues to grow and has become the default point of call for businesses and individuals searching for goods, services or information. For businesses wishing to get that competitive advantage, a multilingual website now presents one of the most high impact means of expanding a client base and securing greater sales volumes. .htaccess to Mask Errors on Your Website The .htaccess file is a control file located in your webservers directory. Understand Your Color Any design on a web application involves the effective input of color scheme in order to impress web surfers, instill a certain image or identity associated with the kind of web site it represents, and add impact to the web pages. However, very few possess the talent and skill of developing a harmonious color scheme. Text Is King! Are you building your website? If so, STOP! Take a look at what you have done so far. How many images do you have? How much text do you have?If your website has more images than text then you could be in trouble. The Key to Getting More Magic Shows Booked Online This article is the result of a conversation I had with a magician about his website. He wanted to know if I could build him a nice looking site that had his name and contact information on it. Top Ten Website Design Secrets for Internet Marketing Success When it comes to marketing your website, you should really work on the design of your site and optimize it so it makes you the maximum amount of money per visitor as possible. The design of your website is very important and plays a huge role in your website's success or failure. Custom Web Site Design Strategies Web site design has certainly, in the past decade, evolved tremendously. More clients now are demanding custom design, as opposed to the 'cookie cutter' sites of yesteryear. Color and Web Design Color is one of the most important but least understood elements of web design today. Whether they know it or not, visitors to a site respond to colors and other visual elements on the site on a psychological level. Flash - To Use Or Not To Use? Out there in the WWW there are thousands sites using flash for their needs. But the majority sites are not in this list. Web Crimes: how to avoid common website design mistakes Thinking about designing your own website? Think again about adding any of these "features"?1. Animated gifs. ![]() |
home | site map |
Webdesign-box © 2006 |