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1.
Select a colour scheme and stick to it.
If
your company has a logo or preferred colours on its stationery
that’s a good start. For
those of you starting from scratch, choose two or three
complementary colours and stick with them – don’t change
colours on every page.
The
most common colour schemes include:
-
Red, yellow and white
- Blue and white
- Red, grey and white
- Blue, orange and white
- Yellow, grey and white.
If
you’re not sure what colour scheme to choose, surf the
internet and find a website that you like.
You can then model your colour scheme on what already
exists.
2.
Use templates.
Can’t
find a website you really like? Another option is to choose a
template. There are
many templates or pre-set designs.
These come as part of your web design software (such as
FrontPage) or you can check out some websites that specialise in
designing templates.
Visit:
www.web4business.com.au/templates1.htm
www.newtemps.com
www.website-templates-resale-rights.com
www.123webtemplatesandmore.com
3.
Provide an easy to use navigation system.
This
is one of the most important issues to consider when designing a
website. You need
to ensure your visitors can find what they are looking for
easily. Most
websites either display their navigation bar on the left or at
the top. And since
most people are used to this type of navigation, it’s best to
stick with it.
It
also helps to include your navigation bar at the bottom of each
page to save your visitors from having to scroll back to the
top.
4.
Don’t go overboard on special effects
Whilst
it is ok to have one or two special effects to jazz up your
website, spinning graphics and logos often distract your visitor
from the content, not to mention they can take too long to
download. Your
visitors may click away even before your spinning logo finishes
loading.
5.
Background
Ensure
your visitors can read the text on the background, ie. no black
writing on dark blue background or yellow on white.
Also be careful that your links are visible before and
after being visited. The
default for links in most programs is blue (before being
visited) and burgundy (after being visited), so if you have a
dark background, ensure your links are light.
6.
External Links
It
is a good idea to open links to other websites in a new window.
That way your visitors can easily return to your site
when they are finished browsing the external link
7.
Site Map & Search Feature
If
you website is more than 15 pages, it is useful to have a site
map or a “Search” feature to ensure your visitors can easily
find what they’re looking for.
8.
Content is King
While
it is important that your website looks clean and professional,
it is far more important that you concentrate your efforts on
the content and promotion.
If
you want a professional website, things to stay away from
include:
1.
Flash intros, revolving globes, bevelled line separators,
animated mail boxes
2. Loads of pop up or pop under boxes
3. Autoplay music. Allow
your customer to play music only if they choose.
4. Hit counters of the free variety, which say “you are 27th
visitor”
5. Date and time stamps, unless your website is updated daily or
weekly
6. Busy backgrounds.
Don’t
sweat the small stuff and get yourself focussed on what to
include on the website and the best way to promote it.
We will cover these topics in future articles.
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