Web Design Essentials
Websites are created for many different purposes, such as,
selling products, offering services, or sharing information. The
one thing all websites have in common is the need to attract
visitors and keep them coming back on a regular basis. In order
to accomplish this you need to have a web design that is
pleasing to look at, easy to navigate, and offers good content.
The first thing any visitor to your website sees is the home
page. This should be your design starting point. You can expand
on it to create other pages, but you always want to keep the
design onsistent from page to page. In other words if your home
page is black and gold, you don't want to do your other pages in
red and green. Any graphics you use specifically for your site
should blend with the color choices you make. Pleasant colors
and graphics will help make your site memorable.
Easy Navigation is a must. Going from page to page needs to be
as easy as possible. Each page should have a link back to the
home page. Visitors want to know where they are and how to get
back to where they were without having to use the back button.
Nine times out of ten they will close the page rather than
continuously using the back button to try and find their way
back.
Content is the backbone of any website. Spelling and grammatical
errors do not look professional. Have someone proofread all
content before you add it. Offer content that is specific to the
theme of your site. If I do a search for jungle animals and find
your site, then I don't want to find content that mostly
pertains to the Solar System.
Web design is ninety-five percent common sense. You know what
you like to see on other websites. Be sure and use that same
criteria when creating a website.