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Once you're done impressing visitors with graphics, make sure they can get down to business.

Good Web Site Design Practices: Using Elements Of Design To Turn Visitors Into Customers

Have you ever been asked about 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 design incorporates some fundamental elements that will make your web site work for your business and your customers.

Plan It Out

Before the conversation about "corporate" and "blue" happens, think about how your web site will work. Always map out the pages of your site, figure out where key information should be placed and 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 designed a wireframe, 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.

Make It Readable

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 page design. Web users will browse more often than read.
Include bold, 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 design. Your content will be "lost" in the noise.
Eliminate bright background colors with bright text. Make reading easy on the eyes.
Consider 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). Use ALT tags to label graphics with descriptive text.
Use an appropriate font size. Find a happy medium between too big and too small.

Follow The Conventions

Just because it's conventional doesn't mean it's boring. Following expected conventions makes it easier for people to use your site and find what they're looking for. Visitors will forgive a less-than-beautiful site but will lose patience quickly with one that is difficult to navigate.

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.
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.
Use common names for things - "home" for home and "about us" for a page about you. There's no reason why your home page should be euphemistically named "Mission Control", even if you're NASA.
If you have a search field, account login or shopping cart icon, put it prominently near the top of your page. Most people have grown accustomed to these basic design principles.

Riding The Trends

Your site may function perfectly but if it was designed more than five years ago, it's probably looking a bit outdated. Design trends change as quickly as technology and an "old" design can make your business look dated and reflect poorly on your credibility.

Sometimes an aesthetic facelift is all your site needs to start attracting new customers. A good site design will take into account the trends in your industry as well as the general direction of visitor design expectations. Don't feel compelled to jump on every bandwagon that rolls by, but do take into account whether your site looks current and appeals to what customers are looking for today.

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 site design. But any enhancement should advance your business goals, and your animations and music should come equipped with an "off" button or an alternate static version. Remember, the purpose of a web site is to convert visitors into customers, not to show off your web developer's creativity.

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 should be able to see your site whether they are on a Mac or PC, or using Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome or Safari.

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.

If you're looking to design a new web site, or redesign one with a more contemporary look, Contact Us and we'll help you create one that works for your business.

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First impressions count. That's why you want a web site design that is current, attractive and fits your business image. Our graphical design services aim to provide quality imagery that will deliver your message and achieve your business goals. We believe that you should never compromise your site's objectives to fit it into a cookie-cutter mold.

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Content Management Systems

A content management system gives you editorial control over content that appears on your web site and can serve as a distribution tool for information. Having a content management system for site maintenance will save you time and money by simplifying recurring tasks and giving you in-house, real-time control over your web content.