 Home | Site Map |
|
|||
|
|
 |
Eight Website Pitfalls, and How to Avoid Them
Clutter: Too much noise, too much text, and too little white space mean that customers ignore the content. Customers often scan pages quickly, only reading titles or input prompts until they reach the content they want. Be concise, break text up with headings, not too many fonts and consider the reading level of your audience. Confusing navigation: Buttons and menu items should be apparent, links should look like links. Text should not look like buttons or links. Customers do not typically read and digest information in linear order and should be able to move between sections easily. Company-centricism: Customers are task-oriented. They don't know (or care) about departmental structures, or company jargon. Look at your site as an outsider would, by function or task. Use clear, generic labeling and try to minimize the use of company or industry jargon, acronyms or abbreviations unless context is provided. Design by committee: Though teamwork is essential to the success of a website, requiring group consensus for decision making will stop a project in its tracks. Bells and whistles: How a site looks is not as important as the content and the organization of that content. Establish the site layout before attempting to finalize design. High-maintenance pages: Static pages based on dynamic information are quickly outdated. Include dynamic data only if it is needed, and provide a way to maintain it. Back patting: Don't tell customers how great your products are, show them. Keep introductory material to a minimum and focus on your programs or services. Overcomplicating: Designers tend to approach a site as if it should spring whole-formed from their head before it is published. Remember, a website is forever a work in progress and should be approached as such. Publish the information at hand, and the site can expand and revised as needed according to user feedback. Torre DeVito is a web designer from Cary, North Carolina. For more information visit www.pagecandy.com.
MORE RESOURCES:  Yahoo! News Search Results for website design Yahoo! News Search Results for website design • Website a waste (Re: City pays $128,000 for new website design) Wow -- $128,000 for this amateur website? Another colossal waste of my property tax dollar. Ranks right up there with the addition to the arena that I'll never use and the new bridge built so Bulls fans can get to Wendy's quicker after the game.[...] • Design Build Construction Company The Korte Co. Architects New Website and On... ST. LOUIS, MO--(Marketwire - 09/02/10) - The Korte Co. has launched its Drupal-based website at http://www.korteco.com . The updates to the site reflect the "build smart" mantra of the St. Louis based, Design-Build Construction Company. By enhancing the design and usability, The Korte Co. deliver a rich portfolio of design build projects in a multitude of industries ... • Website Testing Manager, Website Conversion Manager - A/B Testing- IT Website Testing Manager, Website Conversion Manager - A/B Testing - Notting Hill, London Website Testing Manager, Website Conversion Manager - A/B & Multivariate Notting Hill, London Up to £40,000 + Bonus + Equity Founded by a team of 4 ex Googlers, we are a London based technology solutions and advisory company that improves the efficiency of online businesses and web-based properties. • City unveils new website design The city has a new look for its website located at www.cityofmadisonsd.com that includes noticeable changes in its design and, hopefully, easier online navigation for its users. • New Website Design For The Work Connection Business Staffing Agency's New Website Serves Both Job Seekers and Employers |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How to Create A Homepage That Works Want to know what the worst thing to say on a homepage is?"Welcome to our homepage." And yet, time after time, we all come across such homepages on the Internet. Testament To Testimonials We have all seen websites showcasing their testimonials either spread strategically throughout the site or all together on their own glorious page. They're there with the intent of leading us toward that high dollar purchase or convincing us of something's legitimacy. Cascading Style Sheets for Better Web Design In cascading style sheets you can specify how your web pages will be presented on the screen by simply predefining page elements such as fonts, headers and links.You can add these predefined elements in the head-section of your pages, but more interesting is to use them in a single . Finger Eating Garage Door Reveals Breakthrough Web Design and Linking Strategy Last Thursday afternoon I was working on a garage door and regrettably loosened the torsion spring too much. This spring is what relieves or neutralizes the weight of the garage door so the openers can work without burning out and so you don't have to be Arnold Schwarzenegger to open it. 7 Reasons Why Using CSS is a Must CSS is a new option for website designers that have been using HTML and tables for most of their web designing careers. Of course, it is a huge change and requires learning a new language and skill, however most people are saying CSS is worth it and it will give you more control, options, and is easier to edit. Your Web Site Is A Wonderland: What Picassos Art Taught Me About Persuasive Design Whenever singer John Mayer sings his romantic song, "Your Body is a Wonderland", I can't help but think of web sites and usability. As a usability consultant, I see the devotion to his lover, and the time he spent uncovering every detail of her being, as the way most web site designers think we approach their web sites. How Do You Make A Website? No, that's not the real question. The real question is "How in the Heck Do You Make a Website???"You do not have to buy software. What Happened to My Website when I Deleted the Home Page by Mistake? There is a widespread confusion among lots of new website designer concerning the home page.If you get any book, any course, or ask most web page designer how to build a website, they will advise you to build your home page first. Event Planning Must Include An Event Website As part of your event planning you should seriously consider registering a special event domain. That should in fact be the first step for your planning of any event. Website Registration Roadmap - How to Create Your Own Website in 7 Easy Steps Creating your own website is actually easy in today's world of affordable and free web hosts and website building software. Fortunately, even if you have no Internet experience at all you can simply follow directions and build your own website in seven easy steps. Effective Website Design In this era of ultra-sophisticated internet marketing and web design, there is no excuse for an e-business to suffer with an ineffective website. Whether your goal is to present a basic business website that briefly introduces and describes your company and product, or you endeavor to develop a fully-functioning cash-cow storefront, there is a wide array of design choices to cater to all of your needs. Database Driven Website The solution lies in creating a 'Database driven website', through which web pages are created dynamically which further gives a web site visitor an up-to-dated view of information stored in the database. When the information in the database is updated, site visitors will immediately see the changes that have been made. Looking for a Web Design Company? Use a Web Design Directory Your business website tells a lot about your company. A poorly designed website will have your visitors questioning the quality of your business. Web Publishing Guide for the Beginning Entrepreneur (Part 1) The best things don't come easy. - QuotedThe finished web pages in your hands could be likened to a painting by Michelangelo without the Sistine Chapel. How to save money on a website Know what you wantMake sure you know why you want a website and what you want your website to do for you. Write down some short term and long term goals. Teach Yourself CSS The Easy Way I taught myself HTML back in the mid-nineties and was proud of the fact that I was able to accomplish the design of fairly complex web pages with nothing more than a starter HTML book, an HTML reference book, and the knowledge I had stored in my head. But back in those days, we web designers had what looking back was a fairly limited amount of tools with which to work, and the quality (or lack thereof) of sites on the web was lackluster at best. 10 Important Web Design Tips: SEO Friendly Website A website should firstly be searched out by visitors before talking about attracting or retaining those visitors. Nowadays, a "well designed website" does not only relate to a web site's visual attractiveness but more importantly, how friendly it is with search engines. Hexadecimal Color Notation on the Web When designing elements for your webpage, you will often be called upon to specify a color. For example, the code for a span shown below specifies that the color of the text within the span will be yellow. 9 Ways to Gain Your Visitors Respect The internet is filled with sites and they are good and bad. Some have been known for a long time and some still struggle to get the respect and fame they think they deserve. 6 Design Flaws Newbie Web Designers Make: Fool Everyone Into Thinking You Know What Youre Doing Even if you're not an accomplished webmaster you can still have a professional looking website. You may be like I was five years ago-you're teaching yourself web design and you're starting to catch on to that HTML stuff.
|
|
|