Web Design Basics

First impressions

In the current climate online, we all need to engage our visitors as soon as possible and make a good first impression. Don't forget that it takes less than a second to hit the back button, so a compelling, well designed website can make the difference between failure and success.

Clarity about the sites purpose

Decide ahead of time what you site is try to portray. It should have a clear message that's immediately conveyed when someone sees it.

Having a theme that is seen throughout the website is important and this requires a good deal of planning. Choosing the correct theme will save a lot of alternation later down the line.

Make it user friendly

This seems very obvious but it's worth noting.

Simply put, if users are not able to navigate your website, then they wont stay very long.

Aim to layout your website in a very logical, simple and clear manner. Don't try to be too fancy with the navigation (save that for the graphics).

If you can achieve a solid navigational structure, then you can get away with other small errors, as long as your visitors are able to view the content easily.

Become a visitor yourself

Before you let the website go live, take the time and as act as potential visitor to your website.

Looking at your website from multiple angles and perspectives is a great technique (starting from different pages). Likewise, you should always check your website in a number of different web browsers to ensure it is displaying properly.

There are times when a great website can look terrible in another browser, so you will need to deal with there errors. It's always best to uncover these before your visitors do.

In sum, if you are able to focus on these issues ahead of time and plan the implementation around them, you will find the design much smoother. Another benefit is that your productivity should also increase.

As always, having the correct foundations in place allows for a solid framework to base your website around.