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The Fundamentals of Professional Web Sites for Business Professionals |
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This Week’s: Step-by-Step: The 4 Keys to a Professional Web Site On Focus: Sites for Writers - Part 2 (Promoting a Specific Title or Series) The 13 Lucky Steps to Promoting a Web Site - Part 2 Reviews The Art of Writing About the Science of Web Design Don't Make Me Think is a No Brainer Techniques |
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FeaturesStep-by-Step: The 4 Keys to a Professional Web Site DesignA well-designed, professional web site is clean, clear, consistent and compelling. The appearance is should be neat and not cluttered. Everything should be clear; the visual layout, the writing, the navigation, the graphics and the message. If an ambiguity is designed into the site, it should be clear that this is on purpose and not a mistake. The basic layout, look, feel and tone of the site should be consistent, both within the site and with the subject matter. And the navigation should be especially consistent both within the site and with the conventions of the web. But most important of all, the site shold be compelling to the target audience; there should be content that is useful to the target visitor and the material should be presented in an appealing way. A good web design is clear. Like good journalism, each web page should tell the visitor who is represented by the site, what the purpose of the page is, when they should take some action (including scrolling), where they are and where they might want to go next and how they can get around the site. There should be no ambiguities, either in the writing or the design, of the pages. 
A great deal of visual clarity comes from keeping the page clean and consistent. Cluttered, crowded pages give the impression of a cheap, possibly disreputable business. It's the visual equivalent of talking too fast and too loud to try and make a pitch. A good web design gives a sense of space, space for the words and space for the graphics. A good web design gives a sense of direction, images and words line up to direct the eye vertically and horizontally instead of having the eye roam randomly over the page. Clarity and consistency improve recognition. Recognition is created through repetition; images and text have a consistent alignment, a consistent font, a consistent design and color palette. Repetition also builds "brand recognition" and product identity. 
Clarity, cleanliness and consistancy sound dull, but a whisper can be much more compelling than a shout. We move away from someone who shouts; we lean in to listen to someone who whispers. And someone who is saying something we want to hear is always compelling. A good web design presents the target visitor with useful information. Estimates give a web page less than 15 seconds on average to convince the visitor there's something worthwhile on the page. A compelling web page is focused on a single topic or purpose from the beginning of the download. Eliminate anything that isn't critical to your subject for that page. Keep the page brief and on topic. Better one single, good, telling visual instead of several smaller, inconsistent, loosely-related ones. Keep the page clear, clean, and consistent to communicate your compelling message. To get a start on good layout, check out HTML for the Terminally Impatient. Find out how to arrange an independent consultation or a workshop for your conference or organization on this or any other Internet-related topic. Copyright ©1995-2001 Carolyn E. Cooper. All rights reserved. |
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