THERE ARE SEVERAL METHODS FOR EFFECTIVE
WEB DESIGN. READ HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR WEBSITE

BREEDINGBIGIDEAS

RULES FOR EFFECTIVE WEB DESIGN

WEB STANDARDS

Make sure that your website meets the HTML or even better the XHTML web standards. This ensures that all users regardless of browser (Opera, Safari, Internet Explorer, Firefox) should see almost the exact same thing. Current estimates of web browser market share are as follows:

  • Internet Explorer (IE) - 67%
  • Firefox - 22%
  • Safari - 8%
  • Other - 3%

Only catering for Internet Explorer will alienate approximately 33% of web users, similarly not ensuring that the website displays correctly in Internet Explorer will alienate approximately 67% of web users.

The only time that a website is not tested in other browsers should be when the site is to be developed for an intranet and it is only required to run in Internet Explorer. However requirements may change over time so it is recommended to use web standards at all times and as the browsers mature and new versions are released the designs will be guaranteed to continue working.

ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS

If the website has been developed to the latest XHTML standards then only minor work is required to comply with the A accessibility standards. There are 3 levels of accessibility standards A, AA, AAA.

Approximately 12% of the UK's population is disabled which equates to approximately 7,500,000 people, catering for disabled people has the potential to increase the amount of traffic to a site.

CALL TO ACTION

Every page on a website should have a call to action as every page of a site has the potential to generate a sale. You should have a professionally designed website and brand that conveys trust. All that is left to do is to tell the readers of the site what you want them to do, whether it may be to buy a product or service or complete a form or other step of your sales process to generate a web lead. Failure to provide a call to action is a waste of the web page and a wasted opportunity.

INTERACTIVITY

A website should have the right amount of static content versus interactive content. Interactive content includes Flash, Silverlight and AJAX controls and animation. Too many interactive elements or relying heavily on interactive content will often put off users of a site. The need to strike the right balance is important with the more subtle effects having the greatest impact. On this site AJAX is used to enhance the user experience and examples of it's use can be found in the menu and on the home page.

The other downside to Flash and Silverlight animation and controls is that search engines don't read and index the text content particularly well. However it is worth noting that the search engines are getting better at indexing the text within these controls.

NAVIGATION

An effective website design will have a consistent navigational menu structure. This ensures that no matter what the entry page to the website, a user will be able to navigate there way around the site without any confusion.

Menu structures should also be created as unordered lists. Search engines read the menu structures better which means that they will have an easier time reading and indexing a sites content.

SEO

An effective website will have been successfully optimised to it's intended target audience. Follow the links to read more about search engine optimisation or more about our search engine optimisation services.

CONTENT IS KING

On the web content is king and if you want to be noticed you need to provide useful and informative text. No longer is it sufficient to just explain what your business does and doesn't do, when you were formed and who you have worked with / for. If you run a bed and breakfast then why not tell potential visitors what the local beaches are like, the nightlife and the restaurant. The more relevant information that you can provide to the visitors to your website the longer they will stay on your website giving you a better opportunity to get more repeat visits. The more repeat visits you will get the better chance of the website becoming the perfect sales tool. Also the more information that you provide, the more chance people will link to your site, thus increasing your search engine ranking. Follow the links to read more about search engine optimisation or our search engine optimisation services

For more information regarding search engine optimisation services please contact us via our electronic contact form or on 08456 43 92 43. For a free no obligation quotation please complete our web design quote form.