You may be about to design and build a new website, or to contact a web designer for a quote, but either way you must start with some research and plan out your ideas and the right balance between all of these areas. A commercially successful site needs the right content, structure and images.
Identify other sites that are successful in the same type of field. List key features elements of design that you are attracted to.
Keep your site simple, with a clear layout. Websites that are crammed with far too many images and text are too busy and do not appeal to the average site visitor. Busy pages that are cluttered can take time to upload, can be hard to gain information from and do not encourage repeat visits.
During the entire planning process, focus on the websites purpose. Concentrate on the target audience you are aiming the site at throughout. Visitors need relevant content that is straight to the point. Delays, through waiting for images and graphics to load and lengthy text that is difficult to derive information from, is tedious for site traffic. Not every user has a fast internet connection, so loading times must always be considered if you want visitors to enjoy using your site. Keep all file sizes to a minimum and size all images carefully. The majority of internet consumers dislike rapidly changing images, so avoiding them is advisable.
Sticking to a clean cut design and layout will provide the best results every time. Visual appeal and usability are equally important. Excellent structure for excellent site navigation is crucial.
Use, standard, easily read fonts. Minimising your use of font to just one or two maintains a professional appearance. The reason so many successful websites use the same font in their designs is that they are effective. They are clear and do not present a challenge to visitors. Font size should be kept to a standard size.
There is a variety of knowledge available online to guide beginners using design tutorials and helpful advice. Additionally, you can find many useful tips on graphics. There are great tutorials covering the basics of HTML, JAVA and CSS along with information about the best templates to use.
Your website must be search engine friendly to be picked up by search engine spiders and assist site optimisation. This important element must be taken into consideration during construction of the site.