WEBSITE DESIGN

or Five Steps to an effective website!

What makes a good website?
A good website is one where your visitors can find the information that they want quickly and easily, where they enjoy using your site and readily return for more information in the future.  The elements of good website design are:

1.     Locatability - Can I find the website?

A website name
Visitors must be able to locate your website.  The easiest way for them to do this is to have a simple and obvious web address (also called a URL)  which is logical and easily remembered.  The most obvious web address for your site will be your company name, followed by co.uk (for a UK company) or org.uk (for an organisation).

Search Engines
Many internet users visit ‘search engines’ to find out information about sites.  Popular search engines include Google (www.google.co.uk) and Alta Vista (www.altavista.co.uk).  A website needs to be specifically written to make it easy for search engines to find it and list it appropriately in their indices.  The easiest way that this is done by including certain information in the code of the website.  This information includes keywords and key-phrases, which cannot be seen by visitors to the site, but are seen by the search engine to return results when people who are searching type in those key words and phrases.  These should be included on each page.

 2.  Content - does the website have the information I want?

People usually visit a website because they want information, perhaps about products or services.  Your website is like an online brochure and document library for the public to access at their convenience.  You must make sure that the content for your website is written clearly and simply.  It must be relevant and the sort of information that your visitors may be looking for.  Existing leaflets, annual reports, pictures and press cuttings can all be made available to website visitors.

 3. Presentation - is it attractive and clear?

A website needs to look attractive and needs a “look and feel” that reflects your corporate brand, or image.  A simple colour palette which reflects your company identity should be chosen.  This should be reflected on every page, creating a consistent look which unites the whole site.  This gives the site a clean feel, which looks up-to-date and professional.  An uncluttered and simple site design also enables the visitor to focus on the information that they want, and does not distract the visitor with information that is ‘pretty’ but unimportant.

4.  Structure - Can I find the information I want easily and quickly?

A clear site structure is very important so that visitors can find their way around the site easily and intuitively.  You don't want visitors to look at your welcome page and then become frustrated because they can't find the other pages on your site.  In order to ensure that visitors can find their way around, your site needs clear and logical navigation.  For small sites (of a few pages) this is usually best done by a menu at the top of the screen.  For larger sites, a menu down the left hand side of the page can be used.

The menu must help the visitor to see, at a glance, what is available on the site, and where they can find specific information that they may be looking for.  It is important to consider the ‘audience’ and what their information needs might be.  Visitors may come to the site with a specific need in mind (“I want to telephone this company” or “I need this publication”) and a clearly headed navigation menu will enable them to see at a glance where they can find the information they are looking for.  The navigation menu should appear on all pages.

5.     Accessibility - Is this information presented in way that meets my physical requirements?

Web pages should be written using font that is scalable at the users’ request.  For example, this means that a visitor using Internet Explorer could go to the View menu, scroll down to Text Size, and change the size to ‘Largest’ to view the website in a larger font to make it easier for them to read.

Consideration should also be given to the different browsers that people might use when they are viewing the site.  Although Microsoft Internet Explorer is the most common browser, there are other browsers that may be used, such as Netscape, and care should be given to ensure that the site is coherent and viewable in these browsers.

If the above five criteria are given consideration in the design of your website, it will ensure that your website is an effective marketing tool, giving your customers the information that they want 24 hours a day.  If you would like to discuss how these elements can apply to the design of your website, please contact me.