What I Have Learned About Web Design

Design

I have had two levels of web design classes to learn to design an effective web site. To do so, you must K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Silly). The easier you page can be scanned, the easier it is for your visitors to find what they want easily. Don't get them confused unless you do not want them to return to your site.

Content

Don't over clutter your site with text unless your site is intended for news and information only. Using graphics and images makes it easier for your visitors to know what the page is about without having to read all the content. You have heard the old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. That holds true for web pages as well. And you only have 5 seconds to make a good first impression before a visitor may decide to leave your site and find another.

Graphics

Keep your graphics simple and in context with your page's topic. Off topic graphics and images can confuse your visitors about what is on that page. If a visitor visits a web page that to find teddy bears and sees an image of an airplane, they are going to think that the page is about airplanes (even if it is about teddy bears) and leave the page.

Consistency

People need to know that they have not exited to a different site when they click on a link to another page within your site. Make all your pages within your site look and feel the same to keep your visitors feeling comfortable. Surprise external links may make them think that they have been sent to an unsafe web zone or that your site may have security problems and someone has put in a potentially dangerous link without your knowledge.