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8 Tips for Designing a Great Website
by Ivana Katz ©Copyright 2004

Square buttons, round buttons, flashy buttons... will they match
my shoes, my handbag or my tie? Are you stuck in a maze of
buttons, headings, bullets, sub-headings and colour schemes?

STOP!!!!

Take a deep breath and read some practical tips for professional
looking websites.

1. Select a Colour Scheme and Stick to It. 

If your company has a logo or preferred colours on its
stationery that's a good start. For those of you starting from
scratch, choose two or three complementary colours and stick
with them – don't change colours on every page. 

The most common colour schemes include:

- Red, yellow and white - Blue and white - Red, grey and white -
Blue, orange and white - Yellow, grey and white.

If you're not sure what colour scheme to choose, surf the
internet and find a website that you like. You can then model
your colour scheme on what already exists.

2. Use Templates.

Can't find a website you really like? Another option is to
choose a template. There are many templates or pre-set designs.
These come as part of your web design software (such as
FrontPage) or you can check out some websites that specialize 
in designing templates. 

Visit:

www.web4business.com.au/templates1.htm www.newtemps.com
www.website-templates-resale-rights.com
www.123webtemplatesandmore.com

3. Provide an Easy to Use Navigation System.

This is one of the most important issues to consider when
designing a website. You need to ensure your visitors can find
what they are looking for easily. Most websites either display
their navigation bar on the left or at the top. And since most
people are used to this type of navigation, it's best to stick
with it.

It also helps to include your navigation bar at the bottom of
each page to save your visitors from having to scroll back to
the top.

4. Don't Go Overboard on Special Effects

While it is ok to have one or two special effects to jazz up
your website, spinning graphics and logos often distract your
visitor from the content, not to mention they can take too long
to download. Your visitors may click away even before your
spinning logo finishes loading. 

 5. Backgrounds

Ensure your visitors can read the text on the background, ie. no
black writing on a dark blue background or yellow on white. Also
be careful that your links are visible before and after being
visited. The default for links in most programs is blue (before
being visited) and burgundy (after being visited), so if you
have a dark background, ensure your links are light.

6. External Links

It is a good idea to open links to other websites in a new
window. That way your visitors can easily return to your site
when they are finished browsing the external link.

7. Site Map & Search Feature

If your website is more than 15 pages, it is useful to have a
site map or a "Search" feature to ensure your visitors can
easily find what they're looking for.

8. Content is King

While it is important that your website looks clean and
professional, it is far more important that you concentrate 
your efforts on the content and promotion. 

If you want a professional website, things to stay away from
include:

1. Flash intros, revolving globes, bevelled line separators,
   and animated mail boxes. 

2. Loads of pop up or pop under boxes. 

3. Autoplay music. Allow your customer to play music only if 
   they choose. 

4. Hit counters of the free variety, which say "you are
   the 27th visitor".
 
5. Date and time stamps, unless your website is updated daily 
   or weekly.

6. Busy backgrounds.

Don't sweat the small stuff and get yourself focused on what to
include on the website and the best way to promote it. We will
cover these topics in future articles. 

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Ivana Katz is the owner of Websites 4 Small Business, a company
specialising in the design and promotion of small and home-based
business websites. She believes that every business deserves to
have a successful website, no matter what its budget is. For
more information visit www.web4business.com.au or email
info@web4business.com.au
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