5 Important Rules in Website Design

When it comes to your website, extra attention should be paid to every minute detail to make sure it performs optimally to serve its purpose. Here are seven important rules of thumb to observe to make sure your website performs well.

1) Do not use splash pages Splash pages are the first pages you see when you arrive at a website. They normally have a very beautiful image with words like "welcome" or "click here to enter". In fact, they are just that -- pretty vases with no real purpose. Do not let your visitors have a reason to click on the "back" button! Give them the value of your site up front without the splash page.

2) Do not use excessive banner advertisements Even the least net savvy people have trained themselves to ignore banner advertisements so you will be wasting valuable website real estate. Instead, provide more valueable content and weave relevant affiliate links into your content, and let your visitors feel that they want to buy instead of being pushed to buy.

3) Have a simple and clear navigation You have to provide a simple and very straightforward navigation menu so that even a young child will know how to use it. Stay away from complicated Flash based menus or multi-tiered dropdown menus. If your visitors don't know how to navigate, they will leave your site.

4) Have a clear indication of where the user is When visitors are deeply engrossed in browsing your site, you will want to make sure they know which part of the site they are in at that moment. That way, they will be able to browse relevant information or navigate to any section of the site easily. Don't confuse your visitors because confusion means "abandon ship"!

5) Avoid using audio on your site If your visitor is going to stay a long time at your site, reading your content, you will want to make sure they're not annoyed by some audio looping on and on on your website. If you insist on adding audio, make sure they have some control over it -- volume or muting controls would work fine.



5 Important Rules in Website Design - To learn more about this author, visit Veronica Rikin's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends

E-Mail | Print | More

Related Articles
SEO Training Fundamentals to Keep In Mind When Designing a Website
	If you want a search engine to index your website in a quick as well as efficient and accurate manner and also get higher rankings you need to know all about search engine optimization (SEO) fundamentals and design ...
When Is the Right Time to Redesign
	if your website has had the same website design since 1990, perhaps it is high time to do a redesign. The last thing you would ever want to happen to your site is when visitors leave your site without taking a look ...
Is Professional Website Design a Must Have?
	Dynamic website design is often the key to success for many businesses. It establishes your image and markets your business. If done correctly it can work for you by presenting expertise, reliability, and a unique s...
The Foundation of Website Design
	The Webby Awards have identified 6 fundamentals to great website design. The list is instructional in terms of judging the effectiveness of your existing website or initiating your plan for a new website.
Rule 20 Rules are Made to be Broken
	This is Rule #20 in a series of articles on "21 ways to Increase the Power and Profit of Your Advertising Without Spending an Extra Cent," by Brad Sugars.

---

Related Forum Posts
	Re: Top Banner Help
	Managing Your Website
	She Wins, You Win: The Most Important Rules Every Businesswo
	Learn SEO and web design? or Outsource? or Partner?
	Import / Export Business
	The 50 Most Important People on the Web
	Elevator Pitch in 10 Words
	It’s enssential