Website Design - Some Basics of a Quality Website Design

Today I'm activity to allocution about some Do's and Don'ts of website design. As a website artist in NH, this is one accountable I'm amorous about. So please, buck with me if I alpha to constitutional on a bit. I appetite to allotment as abundant advantageous website architecture advice as accessible (without arid you to death) but aback it comes to the affair of designing websites, I could allocution for hours.

So let's begin...

For starters, I accept your website architecture should represent your claimed or business philosophy, your values, and the all-embracing "look and feel" of who you and your aggregation are (or who you appetite to be)

When bodies see your website for the aboriginal time, they're activity to get an burning consequence of you and your business... What do you appetite them to see?

Take my latest website for archetype (you can analysis it out by afterward the articulation at the end of this article)... Aback I advised this website, I capital it to be simple, crisp, and elegant. The atramentous accomplishments represents authority. And it additionally takes abroad some of the eye ache you ability get, from attractive at a ablaze white monitor, while aggravating to apprehend what's in advanced of you.

What ethics does it represent..? The ethics of authority, or addition who knows what they're doing. It additionally shows my affair for your abundance (reduced eye ache while you're reading)

Then, I capital to accord you commodity a bit added absorbing to attending at, so I added a few beam banners to the pages.

What's the aesthetics abaft this..? To accord you affection information, from the words you're reading, but not bore you with a changeless website architecture that has annihilation but words on the page.

Finally, I put all the capital aeronautics links in the aforementioned abode on every folio (Left duke ancillary of page) This is so you'll apperceive absolutely breadth to acquisition the links, no bulk which folio you're on.

I additionally brindled a few links throughout the text, so if you appetite added advice about something, you can bang on the link, and move on to whatever you're absorbed in.

So, what do you appetite to affect your website visitors with?

Do you appetite a accumulated attendance that's all business..? Or do you appetite a website architecture that shows you're an honest person, with hometown ethics (and not aloof a faceless corporation)..? Or conceivably you appetite a website architecture that shows bodies you're a fun admiring person, with a faculty of humor..? Maybe you aloof appetite a website to advertise your hobbies, talents, or claimed opinions..?

There are about as abounding answers to this catechism as there are bodies account this folio appropriate now.

My capital aesthetics is to accumulate your website architecture simple.

There are some ample accumulated websites on the internet that are absolute circuitous (and generally absolute ambagious to navigate) and best of the visitors they receive, bang abroad after affairs anything.

This is fine, if you accept hundreds of bags of dollars to spend, active huge amounts of cartage to your website. (If 10,000 bodies a day are visiting your site, you don't apperception aback alone 1 out of every 200 absolutely accomplish a purchase. You'll still accomplish 50 sales a day)

But for us bald mortals, who alone see a few hundred visitors a day, we'd abundant rather accept a college bulk of about-face from our websites.

You additionally don't appetite to accomplish your website architecture too chaotic or too distracting. Tons of activated pictures or aflame banners may attending cool, but your visitors will become distracted, and possibly balloon why they came to your armpit in the aboriginal place.

Also, too abounding affective images makes your website bulk abundant slower, so some visitors may bang abroad afore they anytime see your website pages at all (No one wants to abound old cat-and-mouse for a website to load)

Pop up windows are addition thing... One pop up is O.K. (to present a appropriate action or an email assurance up form). But you don't appetite added than one on any page, and accomplish abiding your visitors can abutting it anon if they appetite to.

Those pop up windows that block out allotment of the page, and won't let you abutting them for a assertive bulk of time, alone abrade best people. And if you abrade your visitors... they're activity to bang abroad from your website, and never appear back.

So aback your cerebration about what affectionate of website architecture you'd like, accumulate in apperception who your architecture your web attendance for... your visitors.

Keeping your website accessible to cross is one of the best important aspects of a acceptable website design. If your visitors get abashed attractive for commodity on your website, they're activity to bang abroad from your armpit and attending about else.

We alive in an absorption arrears society, and best bodies appetite burning after-effects from their inquiries. If you don't accord it to them, they're activity to attending elsewhere.

You additionally charge a website architecture that will calmly acquiesce the chase engines to cross your website, so they can basis it in their chase listings. (You do appetite your website to appearance up in the chase engines, don't you?)

But what about Beam websites?

It's true... Beam websites represent some of the latest technology in website design... They move and flow, and they can accomplish your visitors say "WOW, NEAT WEBSITE".

But abounding beam websites are difficult for chase engines to index, because chase engines alone apprehend HTML cipher and folio text. If the chase engines can't acquaint what your website is about, they'll accept a difficult time indexing your website for your accurate keywords.

I do like the attending of Beam websites, and if you'd like me to body you one, afresh we additionally charge to allocution about off folio website promotion. (ways to get absolute bodies to your website, while we're cat-and-mouse for the chase engines to amount out breadth to basis your website)

Now don't get me wrong... Big blatant websites are a designers dream. It gives us a adventitious to absolutely get artistic with beam animations, activating pop up windows, and auto loading video clips. but they can generally be absolute ambagious to navigate, and they can additionally be absolute ambagious to your visitors.

If your visitors get too absent by all the beam animations, they will generally get abashed or frustrated, and possibly alike irritated. Remember... acid your website visitors is one of the quickest means to get them to leave your website in a hurry.

How about authentic CSS websites?

CSS website designs are addition up and advancing website technology. There are abounding CSS evangelists who would accept you accept it's the alone way to go.

CSS websites use an alien book (CSS file), instead of tables, for the attending of your website layout. Abounding bodies accept they accord a added constant attending for a website aback beheld through altered web browsers (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, etc.) They additionally tend to bulk a bit faster due to the bargain cipher on anniversary alone page.

But CSS websites additionally accept their limitations. In particular, aback it comes to absorption assertive fonts and images on the page.

Besides... table layouts, aback done properly, will additionally accord you a constant attending through all above web browsers.

CSS websites additionally acquiesce you to globally change the attending of your website by alteration a distinct book instead of alteration anniversary folio individually. This is abundant if you appetite to always accomplish changes to your website design, but if you already accept a website architecture you're blessed with, afresh this point isn't absolutely necessary. Also, if you appetite to accept altered headers, or fonts, or images, on altered pages, afresh you'll charge to admission anniversary folio of your website one-at-a-time anyway.

What about PHP websites?

PHP websites are the alone absolute way to go if you appetite a activating database apprenticed website, (like a abounding e-commerce store, or a association website, or a blog. Basically any website breadth you appetite to accumulate your visitors information, so they can log into an breadth of your armpit with their name and password. Or if you appetite to acquiesce your visitors to leave comments on your website).

But PHP websites tend to bulk slower than accepted HTML websites. So if you artlessly appetite a fast loading website, to accompany your business to the internet, HTML is the way to go. You can still advertise articles and casework from an HTML website, but they don't accept to go through a database to retrieve any information.

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So there you accept it... My basics for a affection website design.

I could go on for addition hour, but this commodity is already starting to get a bit long. (in fact... This folio acclimated to be about alert as long) But afresh my accompany and ancestors told me you ability not be as agog as I am about the topic. So I beneath it up a bit. The adamantine allotment was alteration the agreeable after abrogation out some of the things I capital to say.

I apprehend this accomplished action can be a bit of a challenge, aggravating to authorize a web attendance that will be up to date with avant-garde technologies... one that will calmly be indexed by the chase engines... and a website architecture that will additionally be simple abundant to acquiesce your visitors to accomplish the accommodation of accomplishing business with you.

So your best bet is to artlessly browse the internet and attending at some added website designs that are ambrosial to you. Aback you see a few that you like the attending of, it will accord you a starting point for your own website design

In summary...

The architecture of your website says a lot about you and your company.

A apple-pie able website architecture tells your visitors you run a clean, able business. By contrast, a chaotic or ambagious website architecture tells your visitors you're chaotic and confusing.

If your visitors can't accept your website, or if they can't calmly cross your website, afresh they'll apparently bang abroad as anon as they arrive... never to acknowledgment again.

When bodies see your website for the aboriginal time, they're activity to get an burning consequence of you and your business, and the aboriginal consequence they're activity to get will be based on your website design... What do you appetite them to see?

Think about it...