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Web Design Tips
Web Design is an art, yet following basic steps can help lead even a non-artist to a good design. For the novice or the expert, there is always more to learn. Here are tips for both:
1. Graphic Design of the Site
There is a saying “First impression is the last impression.” The design of the site is one of the most important aspects to be considered while creating a web page. If the
design is good and easy to understand then visitors are more likely to view many pages of the site. An ugly, unclear site is likely to result in pages being closed without looking at the content at all. The layout of the entire site should be consistent and each web page should look as
a part of one web site. The same content presentation style and color
scheme should be followed throughout the pages of the site. The content of the site should be divided into logical sections. For purely artistic sites, there are obviously exceptions to these rules. For sites aiming to make money these guidelines should almost always be followed.
2. Limit the Use of Plugins Required to View Your Site
Try to avoid the use of extra components which the user needs to download to
view the web page. People tend to avoid downloading unnecessary plugins and
they might close the web page without viewing it if they have to download and install a new plugin. However, some external
components have become very common. Components such as Java Applets, Shockwave and Flash components, and Active X
components are becoming standards for web development.
3. Avoid Unwanted Tools and Effects
Don’t use
every tool that is freely available on the market. Page statistics buttons are common, yet most decent web hosts provide the same service with no advertisments required. People also use effects like fade-ins and outs, which can slow down a user looking for information. This is a potential source of irritation.
4. Clear and Concise Content on Web Site
In most cases, the content of a site should be clear so that the visitor knows from the very first page what the site
is intended for. To reach the most visitors, the information should be clearly conveyed without the use of jargon that an average person might not understand.
5. Update the Site Regularly
If you want people to
revisit your website then make it a point to regularly update your site. If
visitors always find new information on your site then they are likely to visit again. If the information is always stagnant then it is
very difficult to keep a visitor's long-term attention.
6. Limit the Use of Graphics
Using many images can cause page downloads to be slow. Slow web sites are irritating to visitors on slow connections and fast connections alike. Further more, search engines do not index text in images.
7. HTML Coding Standards Proper coding standards should
be followed for cross browser compatibility. For example, many people
omit the use of alt tag for images and people with slow internet connectivity
might have problems viewing the images. If alt tag is present then at least the
visitor will know what is missing. Proper height and width attributes
ensure the page is viewed correctly as the page loads. http://www.w3.org/ provides a widely used standard.
Posted 11.30.05
BusinessCreatorPro.com
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