12 Tips to Creating Effective Web Sites

1. 12 Tips to Creating Effective Web Sites Don’t Make Sites that Suck!

2. Need for Speed! • Your site should load up within three seconds or say goodbye to your Web traffic. • Sure the Internet has increased in bandwidth and speed significantly from 10 years ago because of fibre optics, coaxial cable or DSL, but don’t create intense media pages with too many overly large pictures . That will slow download times and frustrate your audience. People who are twitchy and itchy will bail quickly leaving your site unseen.

3. Who is it For? • Any site is geared to varying interests and needs of different target audiences but this may not always be clear because of lack of visual cues or information. • Make the overall impact and mood of the Web site positive and make sure it aligns with your visitors interests. • For example, if you are a graphic artist displaying your work or portfolio online, don’t post information about your dog or cat as it will confuse an audience.

4. What’s the Point? • As soon as you land at a Home page, if you can’t figure out the purpose of the site within 10 seconds, the web site sucks! • Be sure to communicate the purpose of the Web site with a simple and effective introduction / description on the Home page so you can communicate effectively with your target or intended audience.

5. Stupidly Simple Navigation • Navigation throughout the entire Web site should be simple and easy to access. All pages should be only three clicks away to your target destination. • Insert menus or links so it appears in the same place (preferably at the top or side) consistently on all pages as not to confuse your target audience. • A search bar is always helpful feature that helps with navigation.

6. Let’s Keep in Touch • Wouldn’t it be nice to get in touch with each other? Isn’t that the point of the Internet and social media? • When you create a Web page be sure to have a Contact or About page where people can get in touch so everybody can share ideas or ask questions. Yes, you will have to do this with your own portfolio site. • A site should contain both a contact form and an E-mail address just incase the forms fail.

7. Sizzle & Steak • Your Web site should have sizzle and steak! The sizzle is rich media in the form of videos, pictures or other interactive components. However, without supporting information or a description related to your sizzle, you are missing the steak. • Be sure to add media along with a description or caption to communicate your ideas effectively. • Written descriptions are also necessary for the visually impaired who can use software that read information directly from a Web page and are proper W3C standards for design.

8. Put Your Best Foot Forward • Web sites can bombard you with information, details, facts, products, etc… that overwhelm. You don’t need it all! • Take the opportunity to put your best foot forward and highlight the most information that communicates your idea. If you are a business, the most important ideas are your best products or services that need to be showcased succinctly. • If you are creating a portfolio site, choose the most important pieces /work if you can and showcase it with style.

9. Constantly Consistent • All text, colours, styles or sizes of headings should be consistent throughout the Web site. • If a designer chooses a particular font on a home page and decides to go with another style on another page, a mish / mash tone of confusion is created that becomes a distraction.

10. Fresh Fantastic • Many Web sites after they are conceived and created are left to rot. Information becomes less current or stale and little or no updates are performed. • Take the time to update your site on a regular basis and make it current and fresh. • If you are a graphic designer, update your portfolio site with current work. That doesn’t mean you have to showcase all of your pieces; rather, include work that is current and stands out as being the best.

11. Don’t Drive to Distraction • Resist the urge to plaster your Web site with a distracting or busy background that takes away from your Web site. • If you are going to incorporate a different background choose an image or colour that enhances the effect you are trying to achieve. In doing so, make sure the readability of the text is maintained. • A proper site should also be organized effectively so your grandmother can find her way around in the dark. Can you read me now?

12. Avoid Toilet Paper Scrolling • Web sites that have unusually long scrolling pages should be avoided as it becomes annoying for the viewer and mostly ignored. For that reason it is a good idea to concentrate all your information within the window or have a short scrolling page. • Avoid horizontal scroll pages at all costs. Most of your audience will go to another site if they have to scroll across the screen.

13. Colour Me Smart • Just because you have a large palette of colours doesn’t mean that you need to use a bunch like a 2nd grader with a 64 pack of Crayola Crayons. • Use a colour scheme with no more than five colours that works well together. A great site for generating colour schemes is: http://www.colourlovers.com/