Good web site design practices: using elements of design to turn visitors into customers.

What is web site design?

Have you ever been asked your web site design preferences and used words like "clean", "subdued", "corporate", "blue"? Most of us think about web site design in terms of our aesthetic preferences, but good web site design incorporates some fundamental elements that will make your web site work for your business and your customers.

The ideas here are some basic design principles to consider as you plan your web project. For more about effective web site development, read about the fundamentals of a good web site.

Make "Readability" a fundamental part of your web site design

If you want a professional-looking web site design that encourages visitors to read about your business, products or services, the first thing to do is to make sure visitors can, in fact, "read".

• Organize content into logical sections. Make it a snap for visitors to find information.
• Incorporate headlines into your web site design. Web users will browse more often than read.
• Include bold words, bullet points, section titles and short paragraphs. The visual experience on a web site is quite different than on a printed page.
• Never (really, we mean never) use patterned or distracting background images as part of your web site design. Your content will be "lost" in the noise.
• Eliminate bright background colors with bright text. Make reading easy on the eyes.
• Good web site design considers colorblind visitors. Certain combinations of colors may be invisible to some of your most potentially valuable customers.
• Consider visitors with graphics turned off (yes, they can do that to your beautiful web site design). Use ALT tags to label graphics with descriptive text.
• Use an appropriate font size. Find a happy medium between too big and too small.

Make "Structure" an integral part of Good web site design

Before the conversation about "corporate" and "blue" happens, think about how your web site will work. It's a good idea to map out the pages of your site; in effect, design the sitemap first. Find the most logical, most direct way to link your pages to one another. Think like your customers - if you were visiting your site, how would you want to find information? Better yet, get your customers to tell you!

Good web site design practices start with good planning. Don't develop a single graphic until you've set up a skeleton site and done some real-world testing to see if the structure makes sense. Sit your employees or customers down and see if they can navigate your site easily and locate information quickly.

A good web site design will always (yes, we mean always) use navigation consistently. That means that your common navigational elements will be in the same place, and will have the same look on every single page of your site.

Sometimes, good web site design is simply following standard practices. Keep your logo in the upper left hand corner of the page and use it to link from your interior pages back to your home page. And use common names for things - "home" for home and "about us" for a page about you. If you have a search field, put it prominently near the top of your page. Most people have grown accustomed to these basic web site design principles.

If yours is an eCommerce site, make good structure a number one priority. Read more about developing a good eCommerce web site.

When "More" is not always "Better"

It's a safe bet to say that all businesses want an effective web site. But what's "effective" and what's "excessive"?

When it comes to good web site design, more is not always better. Yes, your site can flash, blink and sing, but there are reasons not to add that extra feature. By "extra features" we mean things that do not improve your sales, make your business more efficient or advance your goals, but are simply surface enhancements. Music. A twinkling star. Graphics that fade in and out. All of these things may impress you but they may not impress your visitors. Extra features can.

• Slow your site down so that people with slow Internet connections might never get through your opening animation
• Stop or inhibit search engines from listing your site
• Annoy visitors so that they leave your site before learning anything, signing up for your newsletter, or making a purchase

Flashing-blinking-singing things can be distracting, repetitious or detract from the real purpose of your site. That isn't to say that these elements should never be used. Each has its place and can be an integral part of good web site design. But any enhancement should advance your business goals, and your animations and music should come equipped with an "off" button. Remember, the purpose of a web site is to convert visitors into customers.

On the technical side of web site design

So far, everything we've mentioned has some visible effect on your web site. But there are other "behind the scenes" design elements that can help to make your web site the best it can be. A good web site design professional will take care to be sure that:

• Graphics are optimized for download. Visitors should be able to get to your web pages quickly, even on slower Internet connections.
• Colors are "web safe". Some browsers display a limited color palette. Visitors should be able to view your site in all its glory, whatever their browser.
• Visitors using low resolution monitors can see your primary content without scrolling. It's usually best to design for the "least common denominator" so that your most important content is immediately visible on all types of monitors.
• Your site will work across multiple browsers, on multiple operating systems. Customers come in a variety of shapes and sizes and so do their web tools. People using a Mac, or IE 5.0 should be able to see your site as well as someone using a PC, or Firefox 1.0.

Web site design is more than simply finding a photo you like and a color that works with your logo. It incorporates readability, functionality, usability - all of which boil down to one simple concept: good web site design practices make your web site work for your business.