Design is a very important aspect of your website. Not just how attractive it is, but how functional it is. The prettiest website in the world is useless if the visitor cannot quickly grasp your site's navigation scheme and be able to easily find the information they need.

Having said that, there's no reason your site has to look dull and unattractive. The web affords many opportunities to be creative and fun with your website's visual design. Studies have shown that people tend to stay longer and return more often to websites that are visually pleasing.

The key, then, is to design your site to be aesthetically pleasing while at the same time functional. The "do's & don'ts" below will help you accomplish this goal.

Let's start with the "don'ts":

Don't use background and text colors that blend together. There needs to be a sharp contrast between the two to be easily readable.

 

Don't use a background that is "hard on the eyes". Purple, red, lime green; these are difficult to look at for any length of time.

 

Don't go overboard with animation. Animation can help draw your visitor's attention to certain areas of your website but it can also be distracting. A little animation goes a long way.

 

Don't force your visitors to listen to music, view videos, or download special programs. These things are fine but make them optional as often as possible (see our section on audio/video).

 

Don't use automatic popup windows. They are very annoying and many people use popup blockers so they won't see them anyway.

 

Don't put too much content on a single page. We recommend no more than three page downs per web page.

 

Don't radically change your visual design from page to page. This can affect ease of navigation and the visitor might even think they've gone offsite.

 

Don't launch an "under construction site". People hate to click a link only to find that the page is not complete. It's best not to publish a page until it's complete.

Now for the "do's":

Do make navigation easy. Make it consistent throughout your site. Visitors shouldn't have to look for your main navigation links. A good rule of thumb is make it so they can "get anywhere from anywhere". Don't force them to use their browser's back button too much.

 

Do make your text easy to read by testing different background color/text color combinations. Check it on several different monitors if possible.

 

Do organize your information in an easy to follow manner. Give different subjects their own page.

 

Do use pictures, especially if you are selling products. People like to see what they are buying.

 

Do make it easy for your visitors to contact you. Whether through email, by phone, or both, make it easy to find.

 

Do make sure you or your designer use the latest W3C standards.

Following these simple tips will make your visitor's experience a pleasurable one and they will be more likely to return to your website.

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