More businesses and organizations than ever before now have websites to provide marketing and promotion of goods and services and to open the lines of communication to a virtual 24/7 reality. Ian Loew, founder and president of LForm Design, listened to the complaints of his clients concerning website designs before they became his clients, of course and decided to share his knowledge of effective website design so that others don't start out with the same frustrations.
A new company based in Verona, NJ, Wildflour Designs, recently launched a site that had to meet unique requirements. "It had to have a very personal feel, because the cakes we design are very personal," says owner Bonnie Samberg. "I want people to feel like they're sitting with me in my office and have the comfort to know that by selecting Wildflour they're selecting the kind of individual service they won't get elsewhere. I didn't know if that could be done, until Ian shared his knowledge with me that it could."
Loew based the creation of his "Do's & Don'ts" list on the fact that businesspeople have so many different (and sometimes differing) notions and ideas about what it takes to build an effective website.
"I unofficially call it pre-emptive knowledge because I'm simply trying to help point out to prospective clients not only mine, but those of my colleagues in the field that when expectations are based on sound thinking, the easier it will be for the right decisions to be made at the initial design phase. Getting it right the first time will save clients time and money, and it will also help them reap the marketing benefits of effective web design the moment their sites go live."
DO's
- Keep the homepage simple. Avoid placing dozens of items on that all-important opening page. Remember: in web design people do judge a book by its cover. A homepage does not mean that everything in the home has to be there. What it means is that you simply want to invite people to come in.
- Keep the domain name (the website address) simple, too. It does not have to duplicate the name of your company or organization word for word, especially if the name is very long. It has to be easy to remember, easy to share with others, and easy to write down.
- Keep the navigation structure of the website consistent. In other words, if the navigation bar is at the top of the homepage, it should remain there on all interior pages. Also, the text of the navigation bar must be easy to understand. A long string or phrase will be confusing, and visitors to the site may not want to hang around.
DON'Ts
- Don't use stock photography. Spend money on a professional photographer or, if you insist on doing it yourself, a high-quality digital camera. Nothing beats originality. Stock photography tells many people that you've taken the cheaper and easier way out and they may think that's the way you run your business, as well.
- Don't accept an eccentric or convoluted logo or corporate icon for your company. Just because it means something to you doesn't guarantee it will mean anything to other people. Logos and icons should be bold, simple, instantly recognizable and they should make sense as they relate to the name and the function of your company.
- Don't allow bad or mediocre text (called web copy) on your website. Even a gorgeous website, graphically speaking, will never make up for text that rambles, uses poor grammar or tries to be cute and quirky.
