Planning and designing the perfect website
Building a new website can be both exciting and daunting. The
opportunity to communicate to such a large audience is exciting
whilst the work involved in getting a site ready for launch can
indeed be daunting. However, with a structured and logical
approach, it can be made quite painless - and in fact quite
enjoyable!
Website Purpose Before even thinking about design and
structure, the first decision to be made is with regard the
purpose of the site. Write something akin to a mission
statement, for instance: "our site will enable people to buy
great quality sporting goods at a superb price". It is critical
that you write down on paper just what you want your site to
achieve and communicate. This informs and lends purpose and
structure to the rest of your site and should be kept in mind
throughout the design process.
Target Audience You will also need to clearly hold in
mind your target audience - who you are writing the site for -
this will inform both design, tone of voice and, most
importantly of all, site content.
Page Titles Next, you should define the number of pages
you will need and the key theme or title of each page. Jot these
down on a piece of paper.
Taxonomy You are now ready to define the structure, or
taxonomy of your site. Group the page titles you listed above
into a logical structure that - critically - will make sense to
the customer and not just to you. Give this a lot of thought as
it can make or break your site. How easy or hard it is for the
customer to find what they want can be the difference between a
successful and a disappointing website.
Remember to consider how many levels of navigation you are
prepared to have, and bear in mind that for each extra click
down the site traffic will often fall off by around 50%. This
means you should aim for a flat but logical structure, with no
more than three clicks from the homepage to reach deepest
content if at all possible.
Page template The next step will be to define your page
template. This will ensure that the hierarchy established by the
taxonomy is followed. The best place to put navigation is down
the left hand side so that it is easiest to access and find.
Since most sites put navigation down this side of the page, it
is also the best place to put it - the eye almost expects
navigation in that area of the page when viewing a site.
Remember to have space at the top of your page for a logo and,
if relevant, search. Some sites also put a list of links in a
horizontal navigation bar underneath the logo at the top of the
page.
Content The final step is the writing of the content for
your site. Remember to bear in mind the site purpose, audience,
page titles and taxonomy when writing the content - or pass
these details onto a copy writer if you decide to use their
services.
Ensure that you write clearly and succinctly - and break up text
with lots of white space, lists and perhaps a few images if they
add value.
Ensure your 'calls to action' are clearly labelled and that all
language you use is non-technical and free of jargon that is
used inside your company. If you follow this advice, you'll be
well on the way to creating a website that works well for you,
your company and - most importantly of all - your visitors.