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Is FLASH Appropriate in a Business Web Site?
The short answer is maybe. The long answer is that the question might be better asked, “Is a 100% FLASH web site appropriate in business?.” The answer to this question, in my humble opinion is, absol... [Author: David West - Web Design and Development - April 12, 2006]
Search Engine Marketing – Exclusive Services
Get your site exposed. Are you ruining your own campaign? Marketing is not something to be forgotten when delving into an online business. Marketing is in fact just as, if not even more important tod... [Author: Michael Hargrove - Web Design and Development - April 12, 2006]
Google Adsense - Responsible For The Decline Of Web Publishing Standards?
Where would we be without Google? Well I can tell you one thing for sure, without Google's Adsense advertising program, we'd be exposed to a whole lot less substandard publishing on the web. It seems... [Author: Stuart Drew - Web Design and Development - April 05, 2006]
Create a High-Quality Website – Quickly!
If you are a business owner and want to expand your clientele and market-share, and create a place where potential and current customers can go to learn more about your company and easily find contac... [Author: Andrew Maidla - Web Design and Development - April 05, 2006]
A Short Guide to Affordable Web Hosting
For individuals & businesses, choosing an affordable web hosting plan (http://www.serverplex.com/sharedh.html) on a limited budget is a challenge. The main reason for this is that most companies offe... [Author: Andy Lewis - Web Design and Development - April 05, 2006]
 
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Understanding Good Web Design Principles


Understanding Good Web Design Principles  by: Adrian Mullan

We've all heard the line 'Don't judge a book by its cover'...but let's get real for a moment. In the real world everyone judges you (and your business) by the image you project. The same goes for your website. For many businesses, a website is the first point of contact for potential customers so it's vital that you make a good first impression. The three key components of any web design are: 1)Presentation 2)Functionality 3)Usability Presentation refers to the way your website looks. Great websites are easy to spot because they: - Look clean and professional - Make sensible use of colors and graphics - Attract the right target market Bad sites are equally easy to spot, because they: - Are difficult to use - Make bad use of color combinations and graphics - Have text that is too difficult to read - Pages that take too long to load Functionality refers to your website's ability to give users what they want. For example, if you wanted to a book an airline ticket online, a site with good functionality would allow you to: - Easily view the available flight times - Compare pricing options - Make a booking with your credit card A less functional site, would: - Not have the ability to check pricing or book flights - Contain vague or ambiguous information - Have a confusing payment process And finally, Usability refers to how easy (or difficult) it is to use and navigate your website. Have you ever visited a site that took too long to load? A website where the text was too small and you struggled to read it? Or a website where the menu system was confusing to navigate? That's bad usability in a nutshell. If you want to create a website that is functional, easy-to-use and quick-to-load, here are a few tips to keep in mind: DO: - Immediately tell visitors what your company does. - Allow visitors to find information with a minimum amount of clicks. - Keep your menu options clear and simple. - Use decent font sizes that are easy to read. - Keep sentences short and split paragraphs into chunks. - Give your visitors relevant content. - Use dark text on light backgrounds. - Make liberal use of 'white space' as it helps break up the page. - Keep your website quick-to-load by using graphics sparingly. - Design for your target audience, not your own personal preferences. DO NOT: - Use more than 3 main colors on your site. Try to stick to a consistent color theme across your website. - Use multiple font styles, sizes and colors. Stick to the one font style to keep your site looking consistent. - Overuse graphic effects, flashy logos or sound effects - they'll simply distract users from the main message of your site. - Use lots of industry 'buzz' words.

About The Author

Adrian Mullan is the author of 'The Internet Demystified' and founder of WebDummy.com, which is a popular internet marketing resource for small business owners.