Three Principles That Govern Website Design
November 20 2010
Given the multitude of available options to consider for deigning a website it’s fair to state that’s easy to get confused and misread the success pattern that’s actually encoded in the site’s chief aims. Further more it’s even more facile to overlook the elementary web design principles thus further delaying the materialization of your projected website.
Here’s a thorough analysis of the three web design principles you or your web designer should be guided by:
[1] Possess and maintain a clear picture of your website. You do that by clearly articulating the it’s ultimate purpose. What role will it have in your marketing plan? Will it act as a lead magnet or be tailored to generating sales? Will it be the motor of your enterprise or an extension of your off line business? Forget about the latest widgets and trendy visual apps and go back to the basics. In the best case scenario your website will be exposed to a highly targeted audience with specific demands which doesn’t give a damn on generic features easily encountered on zillion other websites.
A good way to narrowing down your website priorities is by analyzing existing players of your market. Look for things that would impel you to dig dipper into a site and things that discourage you from further exploring it. Even though expensive technologies found on prominent websites in your niche are not at your disposal currently, learn to read between the lines and understand the philosophy behind them. Then import that system of thought into your business model as well. You’ll be astonished to acknowledge that the most sophisticated features started out in development from the simplest ideas.
[2] Once expectations are clearly articulated go to the second phase which is putting on paper a detailed sketch of your site. Attain to every detail you want it present but also pay attention that the outcome doesn’t resemble with a cosmopolitan city depicted in 1001 colors and architectural models. Rather give it depth in terms of serving its readers and keep it linear when it comes to structure and ease of navigation. Be sure that the site offers an easy to follow conversion funnel whether it’s about selling a product, service or building a mailing list.
This includes instructions concerning how to buy/apply, what to expect at each ordering stage and easy to reach guidance along the entire conversion process. Supplying a contact us type of web page, although neglected by many webmasters, has a tremendous confidence boosting effect upon prospects in doubt of whether or not to use their credit cards. To serve its purpose the page must be equipped with a ticket-based support system, geo location, authority references of your business and contacting options – all these serving the ultimate purpose – a high level of transparency.
Don’t neglect the perspective for future development and leave room for expansion plans in the original sketch.
[3] Information is the first reason why people go online. Content justifies why Wikipedia is the fifth most visited site in the world without any paid advertising or selling ventures. Your site must be capable of delivering quality information on all formats – audio, video and written. Although some of the content might be imported from syndication points like ezinearticles, youtube and so on, one thing is imperative for your site upon delivering this content – making it interactive. Providing people with the opportunity to form communities of like minded individuals brought together by content that is both insightful and presented in an interactive manner is the name of the game in today’s web design industry. The prominent Web 2.0. platforms and their incremental growth in the past years is what validates this statement.
Still you shouldn’t sacrifice functionality for the sake of stylishness. When loading or processing times are turning into prolonged waiting seconds you know that your platform is overly widgetized. The best option would be to have all these extensions custom designed by a your web designer. That way they are perfectly integrated with the site’s coding pattern and performance boundaries. Easy to consume content, carefully sprinkled with effective user friendly interaction and distribution features are the ingredients for running a state of the art platform that is both self funded and adds-up to your business’s marketing efforts.
As you can tell, designing a site is aerospace engineering. You just need a clear picture of what you want, a keen sense for current trends in your market and ultimately a good designing service to rely on.
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