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The Internet revolution has spawned a variety
of industries. A web presence is no longer a nice
addition to a business, it is quite simply a necessity.
Web design can be a tricky proposition for individuals
who lack either design experience or a technical
background. Use these tips to help your business
succeed online.
Website Tips
a. Accessible
It is important to maintain an accessible web
site that both loads quickly and is hosted on
a reliable server. Find a reputable, reliable
web host. Always remember good hosting is not
free. You get what you pay for.
b. Graphic Size
Images, and graphics hosted on your website should
be optimized to display quickly while not compromising
graphic quality. Websites should contain sharp
clean graphics that are not pixelated. The graphics
should be optimized for size so that they load
quickly. Avoid using any animated graphics that
will distract website visitors from the important
content.
c. Font Compatibility
Not all computers support the same fonts. You
should stick to simple readable fonts that are
widely supported. Do not compromise readability
for a fancy font that may not be visible to all
website visitors.
d. Browser Compliance
Be sure to check your html code. Just because
your websites' layout looks great in Internet
Explorer does not mean it will look the same in
Firefox, Safari or Netscape. Be sure to test your
website with all the popular browsers and browser
versions.
e. Disabilities
Cater to visitors with disabilities. Do not use
minuscule font sizes or color schemes that are
difficult to distinguish. Use ALT tags on images
so that those viewing the website with a text
reader can comprehend any image based navigation.
Also avoid using a distracting background image
that will prevent website visitors with a vision
impairment from reading your text.
f. Spiderable
Just because people can see your website content
does not mean that the search engines can. Content
displayed using javascript is not spiderable,
be sure to provide a navigation system that will
allow the website to be fully spidered by search
engines.
g. Navigation
Do not bury your most important webpages deep
within your website. Visitors can become easily
confused when forced to click-through layers in
your website
h. White space
Use your website white space should be used to
balance the copy on a web page and make it more
readable. Use symmetry to make the web page visually
appealing.
i. Scanable Content
Provide content summaries and use the topic sentences
to detail what each paragraph is about, so the
visitor can scan it and skip it if it is not vital.
j. Above the Fold
Important information should always appear above
the website fold. In other words website visitors
should not have to scroll to see the content contained
on a web page.
k. Content Quality
Matters Visitors will not be impressed by sloppy
paragraphs or obvious grammatical errors. Make
sure you content is unique and compelling and
properly written. Keep copy concise and to the
point do not ramble. Mastering the art of web
design can be a challenge. Improve the appeal
of your website by following these common sense
design suggestions.
Sources for Web Templates:
Web
Templates
Web
Design Elements
Related Articles:
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Web Copy
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to Look for In a Logo
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Developer
101
Mastering the Art of Web Design