Designing Tips For Your Business Website – Part III

This is our final installment in the designing series for creating a successful website. Last week we talked about the importance of having high quality content available for your site, even in the case of those looking to create content purely for SEO purposes. We also discussed the need to be careful about the type, placement, and frequency of advertisements on your site, particularly popups, which can cause a great deal of aggravation for the user.

In our final week I would like to discuss a few layout and formatting tips to make your site look as professional and clean as possible. This is important for anyone who is hoping to make money, as a poorly constructed layout and look can create distrust and an unwillingness to use a product or service provided.

Tip 1 – Watch Your Dimensions

 

All of your content should fit within a decent amount of space designated on the page. All other areas should be used for borders, general layout, links, or images. Make sure you don’t allow your dimensions too much width, or they may end up pushing past the page, making it difficult to read and use your site. Also make sure that all borders have links contained within that space, and not leeching into the main content.

Tip 2 – Watch Your Colors

 

It might seem like a great idea to do your entire site in the tangerine and lime green color scheme of your company logo, but I can tell you as both a business owner and consumer, it’s not. You want a page that is easy to read, but also easy on the eyes. Try using gentler shades and colors, and don’t overdo it. Remember the lesson from the first week: keep it simple. This is especially true when it comes to colors.

Tip 3 – Be Careful Of Graphics Overload

 

I want you to take amount and imagine the average Myspace page of any teenage boy or girl. What is the first thing you think of? Most likely it is the overwhelming amount of glittering graphics, giant background pictures, and the slow loading page as you wait for their ten posted music videos and full length musical playlist to load. It is nearly painful, and an effect that has actually been duplicated on too many websites to count. Use images sparingly, and use the right ones to convey a professional tone.

Tip 4 – Be Memorable

 

When you create a website you should think of it in terms of branding. You are creating something that is going to be a direct representation of your product or service. Everything you put on it should convey something unique and memorable, just like a logo, commercial, catchphrase, or anything else that is meant as a marketing tool. Because that is just what you are doing…you are creating a marketing tool that you will be using for as long as your business is running. The last thing you want is to provide a website full of bugs, bad fonts, and useless functions. Be memorable for the right reasons, not the wrong ones.