Many people love the idea of having a web site, but get scared when they hear the phrase “web design”. After all, don’t you need to be an artist with years of computer programming skill to make a great web page? Thankfully, making a good site is not as hard as it sound once you know the basics.
The first thing a good site has is good content. People visit web pages for what is on the page, not how the page looks. Ger out some paper and start listing things you would like on your web site. Things like “links”, “About me” and “Home” are always good starting points.
The next step is organizing your web page. If similar things are on your list they can go on the same page. For example, a webring banner and your links can go on the same page. Try not to have too many pages on your web site as people do not like to sift through 20 different pages for information. Keep it simple.
Once you have planned out what is going on your web page and how it is organized, it is time to design your site’s layout. The three most important things are ease of use, visibility, and compatibility.
Visibility means that your site is easy to read and pleasant to the eyes. Picking two contrasting complimentary colors for your web site’s theme is a good idea. The greater the difference in shades between the colors, the easier it will be to read. Generally light text on a dark background or dark text on a light background is the best. Do not use patterned backgrounds as they make it heard to read.
Ease of use has to do with how easy it is for people to get things done on your site. All your main important pages should be on an easy to read menu that shows up on every single page. If you have a bunch of small subpages linked off your main pages (go easy on those, by the way!) adding a site map link to the footer of each page is a smart idea, too.
The most important of the three concerns is compatibility. If they can not load your web page, they will not be able to enjoy it! Do not use things like flash or silverlight as they do not work on all browser or all operating systems and can crash slower computers. Also, check your web site across several browsers to make sure the code works well. Using W3C compliant code will generally help things out a lot.
web design may sound scary but it really is simpler than it sounds. As long as you plan ahead and make sure you take ease of use, visibility, and compatibility into consideration, your site will turn out great! Do not be afraid to get your feet wet and make your own page yourself. You may be very pleased with the results.
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Posted under Internet Marketing
This post was written by Adriana Noton on June 10, 2010
