10 Tips For Good Web Design

Top 10 Tips For Web Designers...

So you have decided to try your luck at designing websites, well, if you are just getting your feet wet I would suggest you learn basic HTML before attempting to build a website and make money. However, today there are so many tools out there for beginners and experts, that create websites with ease in the most time efficient way as possible. Well, in theory, because even the most expensive programs such as Adobe Dreamweaver and Flash can cause errors that require you to double check your design code which, depending on the level complication can take hours to correct and test.

Don't be sold on an easy quick fix unless it has accurate rave reviews. Some programs such as Microsoft FrontPage, Adobe Dreamweaver, Flash, Gimp, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator (for vector lovers) and others. Honestly, the list goes on and on software wise... Then you have services such as Yahoo Merchant Solutions, Website Tonight, and other free services as well... Or, you can hire a freelancer, or design company, I often work with Micah 7 when i need a site design and set up for a few of my not so design, but money making sites.

Basically, if you are committed to creating a website that generates traffic and brings customers in front of your products and possibly repeat business, you are going to need to do more than just throw together a bunch of content and graphics. I'm thinking you are going to need to put a little effort into your work to make a site that works. Hopefully, these basic web design tips should help you out with reaching your goal of getting online.

Web Design Tip #1 – What is the purpose of your site? Answer this question and keep it in mind during the development phase of your site. This is the objective that you should never lose sight of. Getting sidetracked is easy and can alter your original plans and cloud your ideas about your site. A website without a clear purpose can quickly become an unpopular site causing you to lose money and sales. Stick to your plan with the purpose in mind.

Web Design Tip #2 – Do not get too excited and caught up in the graphics. When i first started i was all about the graphics and flash animation, needless to say it didn't workout . Design is not all about the graphics and animation, i believe i read it at the Affiliate Marketing Blog, that unique content is king and user-friendly functionality is also as important. With all three, you are able to create an efficient basic website that serves it's purpose. Maybe not a great site or as attractive as your competitors, but beauty doesn't necessarily matter, I can guarantee that an ugly site built correctly can get as much love, if not more than a more attractive site built poorly.

Web Design Tip #3 – K.I.S.S - Keep It Simple Stupid. Don't be offended, I'm not calling you stupid i just want to remind that simple is not mediocre. You want your visitors to be interested in the site and it's content, you want your content to be informative, you want your customers to navigate your site easily so that even the less computer savvy visitors know what they are doing (well, enough so that they know how to make a purchase, let's be honest). You want them to feel involved a little in the site's “flow” as it moves them towards your goal (a purchase, contact, whatever). When designed properly, you will be able to cater to just about any type of customer from differences in age, gender, culture, ect. and this my friend equals profit and sales (depending on your product or service).

Web Design Tip #4 – No Google Adsense or No Yahoo Publisher on your ecommerce site. This is the most annoying thing ever, ever heard of advertising for your competition? Which would you prefer? The $1 for a click through or a $45 sale? (In case eCommerce is not your thing) I would suggest that you do not over do yourself with the Adsense and Publisher ads all over the place. Most people would say this advice is off, but too many ads take away from your content and can drain out the site's purpose. Regardless, they most likely came to your site looking for more information, not a heavy sales pitch. So keep the sales copy light and be gentle as you push them towards buying.

Web Design Tip #5 – Use audio, video, or other widgets on your site with caution. The latest 'in-thing' seems to be all about audio and visual your site, you know the person that walks across the screen or that pops-up in a corner and scares the life out of you when they say 'Hello!'. This might work if you are already established with a well accepted brand in a mass-market where anything that makes your site stand out is an advantage, but most of the time, that is not really your situation. In most cases these widgets not only slow down your site but also serve as distractions, especially when done poorly.

Web Design Tip #6 – Update on a constant basis. Just when you thought your site was complete and ready for the public you will always find a few things that need to be updated and changed. Always check, and re-check your work (coding), double check your image tags and spell check your content. Tweak your design and make sure that your site is functional in all or at least the most popular browsers. Check broken links, and other link issues, make sure all the links that are suppose to open in new windows actually open in new windows and so on.

Web Design Tip #7 – Make the information easy to find and easy to be understood. Make sure that your navigation is user-friendly and easy to understand. In most cases, on average, a person may visit your site more than once before making their mind up and usually the first thing to be noticed is the design and if the navigation cannot be found or easily understood, then you lose that person and in some cases for good and the possible sale. Even if you are not a professional and opt to use a template or a service such as Website Tonight or Easy Websites 4 You, make sure that your site is easy to understand even to the less computer or web savvy customer.

Web Design Tip #8 – Keep it well organized. This goes for your the sites navigation and content, and make sure that the content is relevant.

Web Design Tip #9 – Add contact information. I would suggest that you use a form instead of your email. Depending on the style of your site you may want to post an address (PO Box) or phone number to where your support team is located. However, in most cases an email form should suffice.

Web Design Tip #10 – Add a sitemap and Optimize your site for users, not search engines. Well, if we only optimized our site for users and not the SERPs then our traffic might suffer. I would say optimize for both users and the SERPs, this will increase your page rank and organic traffic which in return can drive more customers and increase your profits. Something that is well worth the time... Don't fall for the garbage about how important PR (Page Rank) is when it comes to making sales, this is normally a marketing ploy to take your money and get you to buy a crummy program. SEO is important along with your design, and when both are done correctly your page rank will receive what it's worth. With time it will increase, so be patient and remember to always make changes to improve your site. Sure, being ranked high on searches is good, but if the customers who do the searching then find an incoherent site full of keywords and broken, non-coherent sentences, then they will leave without making a purchase and possibly pay your competitor a visit. Make the site user friendly FIRST (in doing so you can also improve your SEO), remember, add a sitemap and unique content is king.

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