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Design Tips for Newbie
Webmastersby Darla Cole
Building a new web site can be extremely
exciting, fun and sometimes it can also be frustrating. It's
always hard work.
To build a quality web site, there are no shortcuts. Planning is
one of the most important things you can do, BEFORE you actually
start the design. I've done both. I've started without a plan
and then with a plan. The site with the plan has always proven
to be more effective and saved me time in the long run from
corrections.
Gather your ideas together, write them out and then stick with
them. Then begin your coding. The actual coding is your last
step. Here's some tips that you might find helpful once you
begin your design. Some might seem extremely obvious, but we all
have to begin somewhere, and even the most experienced designer
sometimes needs a reminder to get back to basics.
1. Research.
Look at your favorite sites. Sites you've admired and enjoy
reading. What is it that makes them effective? What about their
layout makes it easy for you read or understand? What makes you
want to return? Is it their content? The look?
Use these sites as a basis ... something you can have in the
back of your mind as inspiration in building your site.
2. Graphics Layout.
Is your site going to have a lot of graphics? Check out some
graphic sites and see how they manage it. You don't want your
page to take so long to load that people end up leaving before
they have a chance to visit your other pages. Even the most
obvious "graphic" sites manage with just a few images on each
page. Look at Jasc.com or
Adobe.com.
If numerous graphics are a necessity on your page (photo albums,
template displays, etc.) use thumbnails. With thumbnails,
visitors are presented with small versions of your graphic that
they can click on to be taken to the original, full size
graphic.
If you don't have a thumbnail creator, BatchThumbs by
Harmware.com is free and
simple to use.
3. Text Layout.
If your site is going to focus on content and have lots of text
.. check out some sites who have lots of text and look at their
layout. News sites generally have a lot of text and content. How
is their site laid out? Is it user friendly? Then your goal
should be along the same lines.
Text on screen can be difficult to read, so try not to have
columns of text with more than 10 - 12 words.
If you look at your daily newspaper you'll get an idea of how
text is best positioned on a page - remember most people are
more used to reading text off a piece of paper than on a
computer screen.
4. Use white space.
White space serves to give the eyes a break and it also serves
as a frame to draw the eyes attention to the center. If you are
using a solid color background, use it as color and avoid using
an image. The background image adds more load time. If you're
using a template that is image based, see if you can adjust it
so your text area uses a color as background rather than an
image.
5. Practice moderation.
Avoid overloading your pages with flashing images, animations,
banners and brightly colored text. Don't overload your pages
with flashing images / animated gifs / brightly colored text, if
you have a lot to say, then say it over several pages. Too much
movement on one page distracts viewers, one image with text can
attract attention far more than all your cute animated gifs.
6. Stick to one color scheme and font theme throughout your
site.
It gives your visitors a sense of uniformity and consistency. It
also brands your site.
7. Don't make your visitors have to think.
When your visitors come to your site, it's because they are
looking to fill a need. They either need information or a
product. Don't make them have to hunt for the info they need or
figure out how to get to the next page. And certainly don't
require they sit through some fancy dancy flash presentation in
order to enter the area they need to go to. Your front page
layout should be simple and make it clear what you are about. It
should be easy to navigate and find what you're looking for.
8. Make your navigation system obvious, simple and consistent.
No matter what page your visitor ends up on, they should know
how to get to the next section and/or back to where they were
before.
9. Keep your images small.
Optimize your images. Your page should load in under 15 seconds
or you stand the chance of losing your visitors before your page
fully loads. Surfers get distracted easily and they don't like
to wait long for a page to load.
10. Don't assume your visitors know what you are talking about.
Just because you know what "S.E.O." is doesn't mean that they
do. Spell it out. Explain it at least once ... at the beginning
of the page.
11. Spell check. (Something I forget to do many times.)
I hope that you find this info helpful ....
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About the Author:
Darla Cole, along with her partner Kleavell, own and manage
Bronze 2 Platinum Hosting and
Technologies. a successful, personal and affordable web
hosting company. Darla also manages
The Newbie Hangout
which is designed to help the new webmaster succeed.
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