Tips for an Ideal Website Design
At one time, almost everyone had a brick-and-mortar business it was essential in order to serve the customer. In today's world, people may or may not have a brick-and-mortar store or service but they will have a website. Entering the global market place is necessary in order to maximize sales and stay competitive. Having a well-designed website however, is the secret to success in the online marketplace. Here are 10 tips, which can help a business design the best website for their purposes and keep the customers coming back.
Make your website simple to get around in.
Complex navigation, confusing links or missing links simply drive potential customers away. Use clearly labeled links; put them in expected areas such as the top or side bar does not make it hard for them to find what they want.
Do make your page fast loading.
Even in this age where broadband is almost everywhere, too many graphics can make a page load slowly. The current estimates vary as to how long you have to capture your visitor's attention but it is a matter of mere seconds. Do not waste them with complex graphics and animations that serve no purpose.
Avoid blinding your visitor with text.
Large long blocks of text are only for books and they should be avoided on the internet. Break up your information into small bites, present the most important first. Make the first line of each block the most important since surfers will normally skim a page.
Ensure that your website design will display equally well in all browsers.
Internet explorer is not the only browser on the web and it will display differently than Firefox or sometimes Safari or Opera. Maximize your site's potential by ensuring it is compatible with the most common browser types.
Make your site design consistent.
Using CSS can do this by standardizing the font styles used and giving the browser less to translate each time, a page loads. This increases speed on the site and provides continuity for the visitor.
Ensure your customer can find their way home.
Use home links, search engines or any other means you can devise to let them not only get back to the beginning but find what they came for.
Avoid the trendy fonts when possible.
If yours is a business site then a font such as Copperplate gothic may be hard to read and certainly not give a professional feel to the site. Stick to Times New Roman, Arial or Serif for a more business-like look to the site.
Make sure all links work before you bring your website online.
Broken links not only make a site appear unprofessional they hinder navigation so check them before bringing the site up for public use.
Busy sites are not always visually busy; a sense of order and neatness is required.
A professional site will not have a blaring background nor will they fill every inch of visual real estate with something.
Colors should not only be consistent across the site but should contrast with each other.
A white background with light grey text is harder to read than a white or tan background with black text. Make sure your colors contrast but do not clash and are easily visible. This includes your visited and active link colors, because links should stand out.