Web Site Design Pages

Beginners Guide to Websites

Website Content is Everything

What is Good Web Design

Beginners Guide to E-Commerce

My Approach to Web Design

Content Management Systems

Other Web Site Services

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Disability Accessibility

Hosting

Domains

What is good Website design?

So what is good website design?

There are many possible answers to this question (probably as many as there are web designers) as people's personal tastes, likes, dislikes and opinions enter the debate. There is not necessarily a right or wrong answer. Good websites work, they attract people, they list well in the search engines and they are a good asset.

Here are some aspects of website design to consider:

• Target Audience - approach the website from their perspective
• Content - this is what the website is all about, the words, the information ...
• Presentation - the look, layout, images and graphics to portray your brand
• Navigation - how to easily find what you are looking for
• Search Engines - search engine optimisation (SEO) designed into your website from the start
• Accessibility - allow for universal access (and meet disability accessibility requirements)
• Download times - you want a fast website don't you?

Design Your Website for your Target Audience

"Put yourself in the shoes of your website visitors ..."

Website design should be approached from the perspective of the target audience rather than from the perspective of the web site owner or designer. The website should be usable from their perspective, it should be logical and present information in the language of the target audience (so use jargon with care and consideration for your website visitors).

If there are several different target audiences it is probably best to sub-devide the web site into suitable sections for each. Otherwise it is most likely that it will not be focussed on the right audience.

Content: the most important element of Website Design

"Content, content, content ..."

Content plays an important role in communicating with your customers and achieving Search Engine success. Content should be your highest priority in web design, everything else is secondary so I have done a separate web page devoted to content and covers this in more detail.

Presentation: the look

A website is your shop window to the world. The image presented is very important. In most cases this is likely to mean clear, clean, professional and business like. In website design terms this is likely to mean staying in the main stream of opinion on how a good quality website should look which is likely to mean:

"I have broken a rule by putting my left menu text on top of an image but I think I got away with it - what do you think?"

• Using the company logo and company corporate colours in a complimentary way to the main background colour of the site which will usually be white - see side comment.
• Most text will be in a dark colour and use a common web font (perhaps Arial or Verdana)
• Text should be coded in html text, rather than a contained in a graphic, to aid search engines and accessibility
• Graphics are used in a minimalist and complimentary manner
• Watermarks if used should not interfere with the readability of the content
• Animated images should not be used just for the sake of putting movement on the page
• Cartoon images should only be used with caution - they can create the wrong impression

Website Design - Graphics or Content?

"Most web sites are visited for their content not for their presentation."

Most website design exercises start with some pictures of what a web site could look like. It seems that everyone needs to see the website design first and it makes sense from the web designers perspective to sort out the look of the website before concentrating on creating all the web pages. It is difficult to get around this but the thing to remember is to keep things in perspective. Do not spend most of your time worrying about the look of the website at the expense of the content.

Graphics have their place but for most web sites they are of secondary concern. It does of course depend on your target audience and the industry you operate in (if your target audience is teenagers and you are in the entertainment industry graphics may well become a bigger feature).

Images - Do you need them?

Ask yourself if they add value. If they do make sure they are optimised for use on the web as they will slow down the website.

Search engines cannot interpret graphics so make sure you have alternative text for anything meaningful being portrayed by a graphic image. (A basic Disability Accessibility requirement is the inclusion of a suitable explanatory text equivalent of meaningful images.)

Animated Graphics

These are distracting and they slow down the website. Banner ads are generally regarded as ineffective these days and people tend to ignore anything that looks like a banner advert.

Flash Movies

"Click here to enter the site - what a waste of time that is!"

Impressive that they are (first-time) flash movies are not useful for most websites - they just get in the way.

These have their place in entertainment or as demonstrations. As introductions to a web site they will probably irritate most visitors.

They are very slow and can have a big impact on website speed. They can also stop search engines from indexing the website effectively.

The Website Designers Dilemma: Design for a Fixed Size or Fit to Window

"Most websites seem to only us half my screen ..."

Do i (the web Designer) fix the size and presentation of the website design?

This means fixing all the proportions of the page regardless of the screen resolution or browser settings of the visitor. This usually means designed to fit within the commonly regarded minimum screen size of 800x600 - leaving large parts of most screens unused.

Or

Do I (the Web Designer) lose a lot of control over appearance and allow the content to flow into the browser window?

This is a tough one on the website designer but the main consideration is to put the control in the hands of the visitor not the web designer. Thus allowing visitors to choose their own screen resolution and browser preferences. This is one really big difference between graphic design and web design - it is also an Accessibilty issue.

Sometimes this means the web page is not presented as well as it could be particularly if there is little text content and the screen is set on high resolution.

Navigation

A vital component of Website Design

Web site navigation must be designed to be intuitive. This will keep your visitors stimulated and interested by allowing them to tour your website without getting lost or disorientated.

"A clear and logical website structure and navigation helps visitors get the most out of your web site."

Common practice has created certain expectations about website navigation and following the common practices helps visitors.

Common navigation throughout the website helps visitors through familiarisation.

People can also enter a website through any page, not just the homepage - if guided by a search engine or links from external sites - so common navigation helps them find their way around a website from every and any page.

Visitors should be able to reach the homepage from any page within the website.

Navigation can be split between Primary navigation (most important links - the main purpose of the website - products and services etc) and secondary navigation (about the company, contact information, site map, terms and conditions, privacy policy etc)

• Left navigation is the most natural for left to right readers
• Top navigation bar leaves more room below for content and other relevant information
• Text menus at the bottom of pages are an additional aid for long pages
• Unusual navigation tends to confuse visitors and you could be putting them off
• Too many links on one web page tends to be overwhelming (10 is good, 20 is probably too many)
• Bread crumbs showing visitors where they are can be helpful
• Sitemaps help visitors and search engines find all pages
• Help visitors find what they are looking for in as few clicks as possible

Internal linking between web pages is an important feature of website navigation. It allows visitors to find related information quickly.

Internal linking can also help search engine spiders to find their way to every single web page.

Website Design and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Surprisingly Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is often an after thought and not included as part of web design. It is often treated as a separate skill from web design and often done by separate people or separate companies. Adding Search Engine Optimisation to a web site at a later date is not the best approach.

"BEWARE of magic bullets to get your website to the top of the search engines. If they do not talk about changing your website content give them a wide berth."

There are 2 routes taken to SEO:

Tricks to fool and deceive search engines - which can work for a while until the search engine fills the loophole in the logic. It is the approach often used when Search Engine Optimisation is an afterthought and it is risky for you - your site could get expelled from the search engine.

Design the website to be search engine friendly and make sure your content is good. This is the better long term strategy if the website is to reach its full potential in the search engines

I have written a beginners guide to search engine optimisation to give you an overview of what makes a search engine friendly website.

Website Design and Web Accessibility

There are all sorts of devices available now that can be used to browse the web - your mobile phone, PDA or palm computer.

Websites can be designed to be friendly towards these devices or not - sadly the norm is not friendly.

The world of technology is also opening up new avenues for people with disabilities. Your website should be designed with accessibility in mind.

"It is illegal in the UK to discriminate against disabled people on your website."

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 has brought about changes in legislation resulting in the need for companies to be increasingly aware of accessibility issues. The wording of the Act did not mention on-line services specifically. In February 2002 a Code of Practice was published which removes any ambiguity by defining that the Act does apply to on-line services such as websites.

To date no company in the UK has been taken to task on this legal issue however the subject continues to become hotter. It is only a matter of time before this issue is taken very seriously in the UK.

You can read more about website disability accessibility issues if you are interested.

Website Design for Fast Download Times

Many people have broadband many do not. Even those with broadband are often amazed how slow it can be for websites to download as their broadband connections slow from the number of users sharing facilities.

A fast loading website is better than a slow loading website. There are numerous factors that govern the speed of a website not least of which is the congestion on the internet. However there is quite a lot about the website design that affects download speed such as:

• graphic files (large files or lots of small ones, animations, flash movies etc)
• web page code (javascript to create fancy effects)
• html structure (excessive use of tables to layout a web design instead of css)
• server code (database access and processing)

The content is often the smallest part of the web page code!