The world is changing at a dizzying pace. There are so many new-fangled things today that a mere quarter of a century ago would have been considered science fiction.
For the Filipina to get ahead, she must know the advancements that she can use to be at the top of her game, whether she is an entrepreneur or employed by a big company. In this age of the internet, having a website can spell the difference between a dynamic enterprise and one with a lackluster performance.
Here are guidelines from Macromedia on how to design an interesting website.
Creating a site is simple. Everyone has access to tools that make authoring HTML pages easy. The trick is no longer getting the page built. It’s getting it built right.
The key to Good Website Design
1. Get to know your audience and design for them
It is a common desire to want your website to look leading-edge. In reality, it might not be the right approach for your target audience. Rather than enhance design style and incorporate new technologies, tailor the usability of the site to your audience’s needs.
Here are some demographic considerations to take into account when designing your site:
• If your customers are all middle aged or older, think about type size. Make sure your text isn’t too small or difficult to read.
• If you have a primarily male audience, you have to think about color-blindness.
• If your audience is younger, maybe you should have less text and more graphics.
• If your audience is likely to spend money easily, put a special offer on the front page of the site.
2. Test your site with inexperienced web users
When you have your site mocked up, test the design and the flow of your navigation with someone who knows nothing about the web. Test early and test often. Fixing things at the beginning of the design process will save you precious time later on.
3. Make the content on your first page rich and explanatory
The first page of your site should address the user needs straight away. Avoid having a company graphic all by itself or an animated logo spinning around. Your CEO may like it, but your user is unlikely to be interested.
Consider doing the following:
• Create a very simple, easy-to-understand navigation system that doesn’t take up too much space.
• Ensure your user has a way to search the site.
• At the top of the first page, add a tag line that summarizes what the user will find in the site.
• Provide a way of contacting the company on the first page. Often people come to the website just to get a phone number or address
• If you are selling directly from the web page, highlight some of the profiled products or services on the front page.
4. Provide contact information on every page.
The web is frequently used nowadays as a big telephone directory so consider putting your contact information on every page to make it easy for you customers to contact you.
5. Set up your navigation system to help users find what they are looking for
Whether comprised of Javascript rollovers, Flash files or text links, a navigation system must be easy to find and simple to understand. If you decide that your navigation and links need to differ visually from the standards, take time early on to test the interface.
6. Provide search options
Search engines are very complex these days and the cost ranges from free services to expensive ones. But whatever the cost, you do want a search engine.
7. Sound and animation
Avoid anything that does not contribute directly to the usability of the site. If you need to create a movie describing how to use a product or to illustrate a technique, ensure that the content will improve the site. The same caution goes for music, whistles and beeps. Unless you are doing an audio tour on-line or teaching a language, avoid this altogether.
8. Provide printer-friendly pages
If your information is really useful, it is likely that users will want to have it printed. Consider setting up a PDF file that opens from a link. This usually makes the printing process so much easier.
Ultimately, creating a website is easy. The challenge is getting it looked at – again and again.
The above guidelines were originally published in the newsletter of Macromedia.
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