Design a Web Site That Works

Essential tips to make your website functional, user-friendly and most importantly -- effective:

Functionality: Keep it simple. Try to create web pages that can be loaded in under 10 seconds. Utilize standard titles for your menu items, such as Home, About Us, Site Map and so on. Stay away from use of gimmicky or coy options. Furnish intuitive links at the base of each page.

Keep the difference in color between the text and background very distinct. Use either very dark (black) wording on a very light (white) backdrop or the inverse are ideal. Font sizes that are smaller than 10pt should not be used in the page's body portion. Stay away from use of fonts with serifs, such as Times Roman, since they are hard to decipher or make out on a computer monitor. Steer clear of using lengthy, uninterrupted sections of text.

Test your site to make sure that it looks good within different browsers and screen resolutions (600x800, 1024x768 and above if you can)

Trademark (Brand) your Website: Add your logo to every page. Supplement your logo with a slogan or catchy motto that sums up your company's mission. Utilize a color palette and configuration that are expressly identified with your website. Include an About Us segment that contains any pertinent details about you and your company. Add a copyright statement on every page's lower portion. Include a link from your brand symbol to your homepage, with the exception of within the homepage. Include a link directing to your homepage on each of your interior pages.

Content: Compose text in everyday language (approximately a 5th grade reading level) that is universally comprehensible (avoid slang or colloquials) Avoid "shop talk" unless you are operating a technical or educational website. Make sure to utilize spell check. Errors in spelling are an embarrassment and damage your credibility.

Hyperlinks: Be certain that all your links are functioning correctly. Especially if you link to sites outside your domain, check them often for viability. Be explicit in your links. They should be self-explanatory. Use the title tag in all of your links for more clarity. Links ought to point out what the visitor will be linked to, instead of merely stating, 'click here'. If you customize the style of your links, be sure to make them underlined and use a consistent color scheme for all the links throughout your website. Refrain from underlining text anywhere except for links. When you delineate the links in your style sheet, choose a separate hue for links that are visited.

Stephen Grisham, Sr. is a copy writer for InfoServe Media, LLC. InfoServe Media is a Houston, TX web design and web hosting company. Want to create your website yourself? InfoServe Media also offers a way to create a web site yourself with a very powerful and easy to use site builder. They also provide domain registration, search engine optimization (SEO) and more.