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Design tips for your website
Good design will strengthen your brand and
differentiate you from your competitors. Your website's visual appeal, ease of
use and downloading speed will help your visitors focus on your message.
Content and Writing style
- Focus on visitor's needs and benefits, not on
you or on fancy graphics.
- Organise your information from more to
less requested or from more important to trivial (hierarchy).
- Be concise and objective (report on facts).
- Use simple language (avoid jargon).
- Keep sentences and paragraphs short.
- Make it easy to scan (use headings, bullet
points).
- Use bold fonts for headings and important
words.
- Up-date your information regularly.
Layout
- Use similar features located at the same
place on each page for consistency.
- Place important information at the top of
page to be seen when your visitor opens the page.
- Align elements
to facilitate scanning.
- Simplify because clutter detracts from
your message.
- Use contrast (e.g. font size, style) to
increase readability.
- Organise information, group or chunk
data by categories.
-
Create an atmosphere with
colours and graphics.
Design for quick download time.
Navigation
- Ensure all links work.
- Use the same navigational look on each page.
- Use descriptive link labels to let the visitor
know where the links lead.
- Make it easy to contact you and take action
(no more than 3 clicks to the order form).
- Provide brief annotations for links that are
part of a list.
- Use conventions (e.g. blue
unvisited links).
To conclude: good design does not replace interesting and
useful information and well defined goals and objectives.
© Henriette Martel
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