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15 Tips for Better Website design
Throughout the years, the standards and expectations of a business' website have raised dramatically, and these days it's at an all time high. You have only mere seconds to capture a visitor's interest and also the website design will have a huge role; it'll either entice these to stick around or send them packin'.
The following is a small collection of website design best-practices...
No spelling or grammatical mistakes - This will go without saying, but a website with spelling or grammatical mistakes can lose credibility and appear unprofessional. Thoroughly spell-check and proof read anything before putting it survive your site. Avoid long pages - Whilst some vertical scrolling is tolerable, don't make your pages excessively long. For those who have a large amount of content, consider dissecting it over multiple pages.
Harsh, conflicting colours Body of the most hated steps you can take is defined black text on a white background, or the other way around. There is such a harsh contrast here that some people get headaches from taking a look at it. You need to make it simpler around the eye for that user, so if you're using black/white, considering playing around with different shades of grey.
Make sure your links are visible - The consumer should be able to easily identity exactly what is a link and what isn't. Links will commonly be considered a different colour in the standard text and therefore are often underlined.
Optimise your anchor-text on links - When you are developing a link, try to avoid making the link something generic like 'click here'. For instance; rather then saying "For an expert business website, click here", I could say "Such and such company can create for you personally a professional business website".
Avoid intro pages - The more steps a user has to perform to gain access to your articles, the more discouraging it will be for them. Frequently I see websites with an 'intro' page, where all it is is their logo and an 'enter site' button. A pointless page measuring only real purpose would be to result in the user work harder... avoid this!
Keep your website simple - What this means is keeping your navigation user-friendly and easy to follow, and not cluttering your website. If you have a substantial amount of content, break it up into smaller, more manageable pieces. LESS Is much more!
Make sure your logo is clickable - Most users now have burnt it into their heads that clicking the logo will send them back towards the homepage, so make sure your's does this also.
Include your contact information - There's nothing worse than the usual website which has no contact information. It ought to be easy for a user to get a hold of you if they have to so be sure you possess a contact page together with your details, and other various direct links to that page throughout the website. If you primarily want user's to phone you, consider placing your phone number towards the top of every page.
Avoid audio - Most user's hate going onto a website that automatically plays off a relevant video or some sort of audio. If you have embedded a video and music track, make certain it's up to the consumer to initiate it with a play button and do not force it upon them.
Do not open new browser windows - It's seems logical when you direct links with other sites to open in a new browser window the user won't leave your site, but there's a reason why browsers have a back button in it. Let the user control how links are opened... they will go back if they want to.
Grab their attention - Like I said at the start, you've only mere seconds to grab a visitor's attention. So anything you have on your homepage, it must be compelling enough to make them want more. A great way to do this is by using a slideshow or promotional banner of some kind. Keep the text short and also to the point, and make sure there are links towards the areas online you would like traffic driven to.Also, make sure to keep your most important information towards the top and 'above the fold', as in, make sure the visitor can see it without needing to scroll down. You want it to smack them in the face as soon as they visit the web site.
Simple fonts go a long way - It's not hard to format your content with some new fancy font, but could it be readable? There is no point in making the text look prettier if the user can't see clearly... Businesses of various web fonts to chose from nowadays that are easy and elegant, but nonetheless give your site that little bit of funk. A good website will most likely only make use of about 2 - 3 different fonts; One to two for the headers and the other for that text.
Font size - Whilst we're on the subject of fonts... make sure that the text is large enough so everybody is able to read it! Depending on the website, an inferior text might look better visually and fit in with the look better, however it won't be very easy for some people to read. I suppose this will depend in your target audience... if its the older generation, perhaps the text should be a little larger.
Avoid flash - Flash-based websites aren't so user-friendly and can cause major headaches for many users. The occasional flash-based banner is acceptable, otherwise, cure it such as the plague.
