User Friendly Website Hints & Tips
More Web Design Articles
A Road Map to the World Wide Web: Web Site Planning and Preparation
The World Wide Web, also referred to as the Internet, offers businesses yet another media through which to educate, promote or sell their product or service, giving businesses and consumers instant access to one another 24/7. Can you believe it was once projected that the Internet would peak in the early 2000s Today, statistics show that nearly one million new web sites are launched in the U.
CSS Website Design
Cascading Style Sheets (or CSS for short) have slowly but surely become a website design standard over the past few years. It was not that many years ago that people used Frames to position their content across their web pages and Tables gradually replaced this. Many low-end website developers are still very comfortable with Tables, as it 'does what it says on the tin'.
How To Create An Effective Biography On Your Web Site
Do you have an effective biography on your web site Because when people visit your web site, it is vital that you establish your credibility. As quickly and as convincingly as possible. This can be done through testimonials, before-and-after pictures, seals (Better Business Bureau, Ethical Business Pledge, etc.
Usability and usability requirements
Usability is concerned with 'optimizing the interactions people have with interactive products' and is achieved by defining usability and user experience goals. These goals aim to promote products which are effective, easy to learn and enjoyable to use. (Preece et al. 2002:14) Usability requirements capture usability goals and related measurements of these goals.
Web Site Building Software
Web site building software will allow you to create a professional web site without graphical skills or technological/HTML knowledge. One of the first things you need to look for in any web site building software is ease of use and doesn't require technical skills, works without special scripts and is not limited to proprietary hosting services.
Web Site Maintenance Design -- Design To Save Time !
It is a smart thing to try to save as much time in construction, and later in maintenance time as you can, so you can free yourself more valuable time building great content. When building a web site, it is important to have a plan to give yourself good direction while you configure your design.
Is Your Business Website - Old School - 5 Reasons To Redesign With CSS
Many small business owners have a hard time seeing the value of a website redesign. They believe "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." And this is understandable. Unless you are eating, breathing and sleeping technology and staying up to date with the moving target of Internet business, you're not likely to know intuitively if your site needs a redesign.
A very wise person once said something along the lines of "the best thing about the web is that every one can become a publisher and the worst thing about the web is that everyone can become a publisher." With the availability of so many web publishing tools, developers are making it incredibily easy to design webpages and sites that are just wrong on so many levels.
The golden rule applies to the web too! If it frustrated you on someone else's website - why are you going to put it on yours Below, you can find some of the most common gripes experienced when browsing.
1. I'm lost and I can't find my way home… Do your site visitors know where they are It's important to have a link back to 'home' or a site map on every page especially for larger web sites. A search feature would also be helpful if you have a lot of content on your site. If your visitors cannot easily find their way around your site, they will leave and chances are, never come back.
2. Disabled Browser Buttons Taking away your visitors' ability to use their browser back and forward buttons is not the way to get on your visitor's good side. If you've set up page redirection scripts, make sure it does not interfere with the browser buttons or 'trap' the visitors in your site. If they can't click back or become frustrated, they'll click the 'x' in the upper right hand corner.
3. What does that say Reading text on a computer screen is much different than reading text in a book. It is a lot more strenuous on the eyes. Keep your font and background colors highly contrasting. If you have a light background, use a dark font, if you have a dark background, use a light font. Your site is no good to anyone if they cannot read your content.
4. It seemed like a good idea at the time… Some graphics just look soooo cool - but before you add it to your site, stop, take a deep breath and think about it. Where will you put it and what will it add to your site Will it cause your visitors to lose focus on the content and focus on the spinning, flashing, blinking, (you get the idea) object Will it slow down page load time Keep in mind, the average visitor will barely wait 3 seconds for a page to completely download much less 10 seconds for a blinking rainbow.
5. Your page was last updated when Set your site as your homepage, it will remind you to periodically update it, especially if you see that there is something amiss with your site's content. Try to update your site at least once a month (weekly is a better option). If your content doesn't change or get updated, your visitors will lose interest. If you don't have a lot of time to spare, you may do well to add a blog or forum to your site and allow your visitors to add content for you.
Unless you update your site regularly (notice I did not say 'plan to update…'), you really do not need the 'site last updated [date]' on your page. Your visitors may get the wrong impression if they see that the last time your site was updated was 'half past never, 500 BC'.
6. Make sure your links are clearly marked. Underline it, strike it through, change the font color, do something, but make sure it is differentiated from your site's normal text. If it's not a link - don't underline it. Go through your site and make sure that your links lead somewhere other than 'HTTP 404 - page not found', it scares most people. A helpful tool for checking your site links is located at [www.stickysauce.com]
7. 'Enter here and ye shall know the truth…' You do not need a gate-keeper to screen out the wandering souls. If the first page someone sees upon visiting your site has five or fewer words (one of which being 'enter'), you're wasting bandwidth. If it's a flash intro, that's a step up - but most visitors click the 'skip intro' link before it even finishes loading.
But you've worked so hard on (or paid a lot of money for) that awesome flash intro and somebody better see it! Solution: place a link within your site content. Once you've earned the trust of your visitors, they will probably watch your flash presentation out of sheer curiosity if nothing else.
So when is a homepage with enter here welcome Well, usually never - but if you must have one, use it when you're giving your visitors the option of seeing the Flash or HTML version of your site.
8. Grammar is overrated [and the spill-chekcer too] Most web authoring and word processing software comes with a spell/grammar check utility - don't let your hard earned money go to waste, use it. Some of the more common grammatical mistakes are misusing its, it's, there, their, they're, your, you're, and noone (correct=no one). Proof reading your final product is also helpful. No one is infallible, that's why pencils have erasers and computer programs have [ctrl+z].
9. Music and other strange noises on your website …The only thing I will say here is - if you are brave enough to use music on your site, make absolutely sure you have a clearly marked 'sound off' or 'sound mute' button. ( An even better option would be to let your visitor decide whether or not they want to hear your music and have a 'play music' or 'listen' button. )
10. All I've seen for the last 10 minutes is 'page loading', I think something might be wrong with my broswer…This is probably one of the biggest gripes a site visitor has. If your page takes more than a minute to load (on dial-up) and you have anything less than the meaning of life hidden within your content - something needs to be done. The average person does not have a T1 line running through their home.
Of course, there are many other quirks and annoyances out there, and this brief article is not the definitive source, but if you want to read more about what NOT to do with your website, visit [http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com]
About the Author
Telian Adlam is the owner and manager of www.alternativesoho.com - a website dedicated to promoting balance and success, not only in business, but in life.
Source: Web Design Articles on ArticlesTree.com
Recent Web Design Articles
Web Design Secret ''" Getting Started Is The Hardest Part
Do you realize thousands of new Websites are added to the incredibly vast catalogue of cyberspace every month That’s really amazing, especially when you consider this could literally go on forever and the Web would never get “filled upâ€.
Breaking Down And Analyzing Your Design
What a graphic designer usually does is to mix all the basic ingredients to reflect a particular mood or style in any color printing ad they create. The fonts, the graphic images, the design as well as the color - all of these elements are combined to come up with an ad that would definitely get your target readers' attention.
The importance of web design to your business
The page design of an online business is very valuable and should be taken into consideration if you are planning to start a business. There are plenty of available options and methods and this might bring confusion to you.
Clients From Hell
As a designer, this article is aimed specifically at other designers who have felt my pain! And if you're just breaking into the industry - understand that no matter what you do, you won't be able to avoid the inevitable "Clients From Hell".
Techniques for effective website design
Website design is considered as an important process in advertising a business and can be a very challenging to the designer and webmaster who are engaged in this process. Web design is basically a concept or process of planning, executing and modelling of electronic media content that is delivered with the help of internet.
Web Development and Maintenance Services
In today's competitive world, the importance of web development is just cannot ignored. Every organization has realized the usability and need for professional web site development in order to earn the trusts and confidence of valuable clients throughout the world.
Web site designing and development
Web site designing and development started almost a decade ago but it still have same importance and value. Cyber space is mainly crowded by web sites and new ones are coming in thousands on daily basis so still there is room for web site designing and development companies.
Ingredient Of A Successful Business - Logo
A good logo recipe can let you have a ‘tasty, finger-licking-good’ logo, which makes your business prosper, has to have all the important ingredients added to perfection. With all the ingredients added to its measurement, a logo can boost your business visibility, increase your integrity and make your business unforgettable to its customers.
Web Design: First impression is the last impression
First impression is the last impression; this statement is true for individuals and it applies with the websites also. Millions of people are searching for various products and services over the Internet.
Five layers of separation - designing high quality dynamic websites
Websites are evolving and becoming more dynamic and more interactive. This means that the sites themselves have to cater for more and changing content and a variety of ways of interacting with the site.
How to plan out design projects
A new web site typically takes about three weeks (depending on size and complexity of web site of course). It is really impossible to say a small business web site will take 3 weeks without reviewing the necessary items and creating a detailed outline of what all will be done, what order and time expectancies for each.
How to Get Your Site Visitors (NOT) Doing What You Want
This morning I took a phone call from a young guy who was trying to sell me the benefits of signing up to a new website which had just been launched with registration being offered free of charge as an enticement.
How to Contract a Web Developer: Part I
The initial client-developer discussion is an integral part of the Web design process. This article will take a look at both the client side of the development procedure, as well as the best practice methods for Web developers to employ when speaking to their potential business partners.
The A-Z of Web Design Services
Web design services, in simple terms is the representation of content that is related to a business and uses graphics and designs on the internet in the form of a web application. The website is the most essential feature in online marketing.
E-commerce Solutions - Joomla Development
S-Axxis is a premium software solution company that's known for the quality and the thoroughness of its solutions. We believe in thinking out of the box to improve the clients business by any means and technology possible.