A Sensible Guide To Web Design

You have spent a considerable amount getting your new business off the ground and now it is time to join your comrades online.

Many budding entrepreneurs opt to self-design their website, and why not, who better knows their business right?

If you are planning on building it yourself or getting someone to do it for you it is worth being involved in developing the blueprint for your site and when doing this there are few things that must be considered.

While it is important to get your product out there Web pages which are visually appealing and fuelled with sales oomph may actually cause your site to lose visitors.

Say NO to Flash Animation

If you have ever been to a site where the first page is some fancy animation, it is not as appealing as it is annoying. Out of the world’s top sites NONE of them are prefaced by flash animation. What’s more when Google scans the first page of your site for relevant content, it can’t interpret the animation and registers the first page as void of content.

Flash animation can also take a notoriously long time to load. Not everyone has fast internet access so if you make your visitors wait most will leave the site and visit one that downloads quicker.

First Thing’s First; Key Information

Users don’t want to waste time looking for the most important information; make it easy for them by showing your company’s product on the first page. Make this message clear and to the point. Where possible adorn the page headings and titles with the keywords that best describe your site. Google places greater importance on information inside headings. So if you can succeed in getting your message across here your site is more likely to place well in the Google rankings.

Make sure contact details are easily visible. If they aren’t on your first page, make sure they are at least a click away.

Consistency is Key

The design must be simple and effective, which needs to be carried throughout the entire site. Don’t go overboard with too many different fonts, colours and layouts.

When I Hear Music…

Music on a webpage, like flash animation, takes too long to load and because of this drives visitors from your site rather than draws them in. Unless your business is music related, don’t use music on your site to add extra flavour.

If people want to listen to music while they browse they will open their iTunes, not log on to your site.

Don’t Forget to Update!

Once your site is live, it still needs maintenance! Give it a face lift once the design becomes dated and keep content fresh, relevant and updated. Analyse the traffic reports, available from your hosting supplier, and customise your sight to better suit those who are visiting it the most. Make sure all of the links on your sight are operational; you will lose customers quickly if error messages on your site are common place.

The best plan of attack is to find a qualified web designer to work through any issues for you. Yet if this is not within your budget try and at least give your site the best chance of success.