Saturday, March 9, 2013

Get Great Results with Good Web Design

By Regina Ng


An excellent website design does not always mean expensive or fancy - it just has to have proper design principles and elements in it that makes for a good user experience. It is a simple fact about human nature that there is always one thing that gets noticed right away on a site. We all take note of the site design, even if we are not actually thinking those words, "What is this site design all about?". If you are in business on the net, then your site has to at least not turn people off or make them run away as soon as they land. Our conversation will center on what you need to know and get right on your site concerning design.

Turning 404 Pages in Your Favor: A 404 Page comes up when someone types in an incorrect url when trying to reach your site, indicating that the page doesn't exist. Now, what does this have to do with effective web designing? What's relevant is that all of the people who end up on your 404 page were trying to find a page on your site but got lost and may never return. What you should do is transform the default 404 page, which is essentially a dead end into a menu where the visitor can easily find the part of your website where you want them. If you don't do this, you could be losing a large number of visitors and you may not even realize it. You can design the 404 page however you want, as long as you make it easy for the visitor to find your site.

Your navigation shouldn't be confusing nor inconsistent, but rather should be in a flow. Your visitors shouldn't need to search around to go from one page to another; one of the best web designs are all about user friendly interface where the user doesn't have to think much. The navigation must be out of sight when not needed, or not thought about - but easy to see and use when it is needed. Some of the sites that get a ton of traffic are very simple with their designs. The opposite is very unattractive to many people, and it can make people frustrated trying to use it. If your design skills are up to the task, then you will have a better chance of making a site with more elements in it. One of the main reasons as to why you should have a simple design is because people tend to leave sites quickly when they don't really look appealing. If you already know that you will display advertisements, then they have to be accounted for in the layout. Besides this, creating a professional site is all about keeping things simple, so why complicate it?

Why a Favicon is Important: "Favorite icons" or favicons are a simple feature that can really add to the overall quality of your site. Adding a favicon to your website instantly makes it look credible and more recognizable. This will allow you to have your logo to be displayed in the URL box. Another advantage of favicons is that they appear when your pages are bookmarked by users, so this image can become widely known as your site gets more popular.

Of course we have only talked about a few important topics concerning website design, and there is much more out there. There really are no secrets with site design, so the information is readily available to you.




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