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Al's Top Ten - Designing Website

Top 10 Things to Look for in Designing a Website

OK, everyone knows someone who’s best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend who knows this guy who knows this kid who’s going with this girl who “does” web pages.

If a professional look is what you want on your webpage, here are some things to look for when launching or redesigning a web presence.

1.It needs to look attractive.

Nothing is as important as first impressions. First impressions set the groundwork for future interaction. A site must be visually stimulating, focusing on consistency by combining complimentary colors, appropriate copy and attractive graphical elements. You can “feel” the difference between a good site and a great site as a great site will achieve a balance of design and content.

2.It needs to be easy to use.

Ever find a product you would like to purchase but cannot figure out how to order it? Ever wish to contact a customer service representative but there is no email address with which to do so? Ever see pages that have different designs and layouts within the same overall site? Perhaps the accessibility options of the internet apply to you. This is all part of Web Usability. Usability is the quality control of the site. It makes sure function meets form and reinforces your experience.

3.The navigation system should be intuitive.

Like a roadmap, without clear signs to follow, you will most likely get lost. The purpose of a website is to put your audience in touch with information about your organization. Clear and consistent navigation is essential. Research has showed that users will move on to a competitor in less than 5 seconds if they cannot understand your system of navigation.

4.It utilizes Cascading Style Sheets, CSS.

This is presently the standard for designing websites. There are numerous advantages such as smaller overall size, enables your site to work on all platforms, is easier for search engines to find and is easier to make changes. In addition, it makes it much easier to implement a major redesign down the road.

5.It works on PCs, Macs and all the major web browsers
(Internet Explorer, Safari, and Firefox).

Of course your site looks great on the latest version of Internet Explorer, but statistics show that people do not upgrade their browser as often as the technically inclined would like to believe. While Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is the most widely used browser, there is a growing population of users who prefer to use other browsers.

6.It utilizes Search Engine Optimization, SEO.

Your web page may not have to jump to the top of a Google search but people should be able to find you if they’re looking. Many times the designer does not have a clue how to optimize the site for search engines. This is a science all to itself, but a summary of how to optimize your site is by proper textual placement. However, the sacrifice of form is not a requirement. For most sites, you can follow some basic rules of SEO and be OK. If your site has to jump to the top of search engines, more work will be required.

7.Multimedia is tastefully used.

When used properly, flash and video can be used to stimulate, educate, draw attention and is a powerful way to deliver your message. We’ve all seen the use and abuse of this technology. How powerful would it be for your business to have a client speaking glowingly of their experience with you? That’s the power of multimedia on the web.

8.It was assembled using professional tools.

Would you trust a carpenter who came to your home to do a job with a ball-peen hammer? Probably not! The software that 99% of all professional web designers use is Dreamweaver by Adobe. It’s rather expensive for part timers but it is well worth the investment. Microsoft promotes FrontPage but it lacks the capabilities of its competitor. In fact, Microsoft’s own website for FrontPage does not use this application! FrontPage is being discontinued and will be replaced by another application that will be much more like Dreamweaver.

9.The vendor uses professional project management tools.

We’ve found that most of our clients want to know what’s going on with their project at all times. They also want to be able to collaborate on the copywriting and text editing part of the job. There are tools available that allow you to do all this, and more. To get an idea of what a professional project management system looks like, download the short PDF tutorial that we give to our clients. It is available on our site under the client login page at www.commareus.com.

10.It was designed by a professional.

My advice is to save yourself future aggravation and have a professional design your site. From this time going forward, you and your organization are going to be perceived, in large part, by your website.

You want your website to reflect your professionalism and not the amateur offerings of your best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend who knows this guy who knows this kid who’s going with this girl who “does” web pages? (Reference from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)

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Al Morel is the operations maganer at CommAREus, a company that specializes in Flash animation, video integration, and CSS website design for advertising agencies and web developers. Al is a graduate of the Digital Multimedia and Web Design Program at Clark University and has a B.S. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. His email is: al@commareus.com