Thursday, October 20th, 2011

Useful Tips for Web Design Beginners

If you’re going to design and put up a website, one of the things that you should go for is usability. Being user-friendly means that the website can be used even by those who are not that adept when it comes to internet browsing. This way, you won’t alienate anyone and you can attract more people to come to your site. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that determining usability is expensive. Yes, it’s true that multi-national companies spend a big amount of money on usability research and tests. But since you’re not a multi-national company, there’s no need for you to shell out large sums of cash. These tips will help you design an easy-to-use and attractive website that would make it seem like you’ve been in the web designing business for a long time.

Put a tagline

A tagline refers to the statement that represents the website. In short, it’s the company’s mission and vision compressed into a one-liner. It should be the first thing that should be seen in the website’s front page. It should describe clearly the website while attraction attention at the same time. Remember, studies show that a website only 8 seconds to capture a browser’s attention. If the person is not enticed within that time period, he would go on to the next website.

Include a site search

The next most important thing for you to put in the website is the site search. It shouldn’t be a surprise that almost all websites have this element. When user look for something, the first thing they would look for is the site search. Jacob Nielsen’s web usability tips recommend that this search box is made 27 characters wide so that the text would be clear and the tool would be easy to use. Always put this on top of the website. The eyes scan the page using the F pattern. This means the eyes go from top left to bottom right. Specify that the search button is a search button. Don’t use the words Go or Submit. These are misleading for the visitors.

Keep graphics minimal

While a picture says a thousand words, you don’t have to bombard your website with graphics that are too extensive. Design elements should be kept to a minimum. They should make the website look prettier but they shouldn’t be all there is to it. Websites with not too many graphics are those that are much easier to use.

Use a site map

This helps people navigate the website more easily. If there’s something that they can’t find or they don’t feel like using the search button because they are not sure what they’re going to put in there, they can use the site map instead.

Let users’ work flow

Like outdoor water fountains, your website should flow seamlessly from one operation to another. But users should also be given the freedom to take a break when they want to. For example, if there is a form to be filled out in your website, give the user an option to save the form and return to it later. It’s also a good idea to change the color of the links that have already been visited so that users know where they have been and where they are in your website.

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