123Triad : Web Design Tips and Facts
When someone sees a beautiful web design, he or she can’t help but fall in love with it and wonder how it was done. However, designing a web would take more than just your knowledge in color, texts and images. It involves codes. But you can learn those in no time so there’s nothing to worry about. Moreover, there is a science behind web design and the following could help you be more scientific with your designs
Usability Testing
The secret here is to let someone who is not familiar with your site have a look at it. As much as possible, be in the room while they are testing your site. Take note of the things that they click on and the things that they ignore so you will know what to improve.
Browser Testing
Do not make the mistake of thinking that your web page will look good at any other browser because it looks good on your favorite one. Remember that the same browser could be used on another operating system and it may not look the same. What you need to do now is to check your page on every possible combination of OS and browser.
Use Log Files
Including log files can be very tiresome, however, it can also be very useful. It helps you know where viewers go from your homepage, what they mostly click on and what pages are least visited. Using log files can help you gather information that can help you modify your site and eventually lead your viewers to the page where you want them to go.
Don’t be afraid to recreate
One of the biggest advantages in web designing is the freedom to change web pages and layouts. Don’t be afraid to change designs that don’t work. Designing a web can be a lot of fun and involving science and structure into your designs will surely attract your viewers.
Use accurate titles for every section
Web browsers tend to scan pages and sections so make sure that your page or section titles are consistent and accurate. In this way, they can be sure that they are being led to the right section of the site.
Avoid ‘Click Here’
Links are very important in web pages. However, avoid using the text ‘click here’ when leading your viewers to another page. Instead use a descriptive and more appropriate text .
Improve Readability
Now is not the time to show off your collection of fonts. What’s important is for your customers to be able to read what is written on your site. Therefore, use attractive but readable texts to attract readers and customers of your site.
Proofread
Even the most excellent writer makes grammatical and spelling errors. You wouldn’t want your site viewers to think you’re an amateur, would you? What you have to do in order to increase trustworthiness is to proofread everything that is written in your site. Remember, less mistakes or lack of errors can add to your reliability points.
Fact 1: We can’t deny the fact that when browsers enter a site, they look for something that is relevant to their needs. If they ended in a particular site through advertisements, then they would expect to see something related to that ad.Fact 2: On the other hand, when a search engine scans a site’s contents, it looks for contents which are useful enough for other sites to reference. It expects to locate a content that is consistent with the keywords.
Fact 3: Moreover, visitors who go to a shopping cart would expect to find photos with high quality, a variety of applicable views and lastly, a concise and clear description and costs. They also expect that the cart should work in all types of browsers.
But sad to say, some viewers do not find what they need in a website or sometimes they have a hard time going around the site. The following things should make you aware on the things why web sites fail.
One fact that web designers must know is that people wouldn’t enter your site unless they know their way around it.
Due to this concern, web designers must take into consideration that they need to conceptualize user friendly and easy to understand websites. For most customers or viewers, very extravagant design won’t matter as long as they don’t get lost in your site.
Your competitors are just a click away
When designing your web site, think very carefully on things that could give you a plus over your competitors. Think of the things that you can offer your customers in order for them to stay on your site and choose you above all else.
People hate slow websites
Designers must understand that searchers can be very impatient when surfing through sites in the Internet. Therefore, designers must find a way to minimize the slowness of websites and at the same time offer viewers with quality contents.
Searchers look for relevant information
Dr. Jim Jansen of Penn State’s School of Information Sciences and Technology said, “A web site has to be relevant to a searchers needs. Otherwise, by the time three minutes have elapsed, 40 percent of searchers will have moved on. While some may have found what they wanted, others may simply have given up and move to a different site.” When designing web pages, designers can’t help but become graphic artists with the aim to make your site look great but sometimes lacking in information. Therefore, remember that while it is important to make your site attractive, it is equally important to place in your site the information that visitors need.
Sites should have clear abstracts
The first thing that appears on the result page as an answer to a search engine query is the site’s abstract. The abstract explains everything about your site. According to a study done by Penn State, more users or searchers can be drawn to a site with the use of an abstract. That is if the abstract is informative enough and gives relevant and enticing information about the site. Dr. Jim Jansen said, “For site developers, if you want to be looked at, it is absolutely critical that the abstract be crystal clear about the purpose of your Web site.”
By: Hunter Blyth