Article: Top 10 Elements of Effective Web Sites
Below is a list of the Top 10 Elements of Effective Web Sites. It includes information on design, content, accessibility and marketing to name a few. This list is not complete by any means, but will give you a view from the customer’s perspective.
1. Graphics
Keep graphics files small. Cyberspace has the unique distinction of being the first medium where you can actually bore your readers by being too exciting.
Design for the World Wide Web is a balancing act between the graphic "wow" and the real-time "now." The more graphically intense a site, the longer it can take to download. The longer it takes, the higher the probability that the visitor will leave before it's done.
On intranets, smaller file sizes can help make the system run faster with less overhead. Performance means productivity.
2. Flash
- Flash takes longer to load, especially if your customer is using a slow connection. Use Flash only for logos and where emphasis is required.
- Flash only web sites can't be seen by search engines. This makes customers hard to find you.
- Flash cannot be seen by text-based browsers and screen readers. Customers with certain disabilities won’t be able to see your web site at all.
- Unless you’re a Flash programmer, you’ll need to hire someone to make changes.
3. Look and Feel
- Maintain a consistent look between pages.
- Use the same background, color scheme, and font.
- Use the same header and footer style.
- A consistent look helps users know that they are still at your site.
4. Less is More
Don't overwhelm your visitors with options. "Less is more" in Web design.
- Limit home page content to ten items, with seven the optimal number.
- Don’t over decorate your page.
- Don’t use busy backgrounds. Make sure the background does not interfere with readability of text.
5. Content
- Home Page copy - Content should capture the purpose of your business and make your visitors want to know more.
- Body copy - Each page should be formatted so that they are easy to read with relevant content.
- Directions from Home Page - Make sure the visitor is directed to the right place to go to first after they are on the Home Page.
- Site Information - This is the basic information about your business and tells them more about what they get rather than what you do.
Design for your target audience and keep your content fresh. There never has been an industry that moves as fast as the Internet.
6. Accessibility
- Blind visitors - Visitors who have no sight at all may utilize a screen reader, which reads the content of the web page back to them. This software, which sits between the user and the browser, sifts through the HTML markup and the technology deciphers what needs to be read aloud and what should be ignored.
- Partial or poor sighted visitors - To take full advantage of the Internet, users with partial or poor sight need to be able to enlarge the text on web pages.
- Color blindness - It is estimated that one in 12 men and one in 200 women have some form of color blindness. The use of Web Safe Colors on your pages can make your web site more readable.
- Deaf users - Deaf users are able to access the Internet in much the same way as non-deaf people with one key exception - audio content. If it's a key function of your web site for people to be able to hear a message, then be sure to provide written transcripts at the very least.
- Keyboard/voice only users - Some of your site users don't have access to a mouse when browsing the Internet. Try putting yourself in their position by navigating your website using only tab, shift-tab, and the return keys.
Other people who may access your website that have disadvantages include:
- Epileptic users who must always be careful to avoid seeing flickering between 2 and 55 Hz
- Web users from outside your industry who may not understand industry jargon or acronyms
- Web users whose first language is not English and who may not be able to comprehend complicated language
7. Usability
- Browsers - Can your web site be viewed with any type of browser on the market today? What about non-compliant browsers, text-based screen readers and non-visual browsers?
- Navigation is the key.
- Provide an easy way for visitors to get around your site.
- Create a common navigation for all pages.
- Provide text as well as image navigation.
- Slow connections - Users on slow connections might turn images off to enable a quicker download time. Some browsers, such as the Lynx browser do not display images at all. Make sure you put in those ALT attributes.
8. Marketing
- Actively promote your web site through the search engines. Use valuable and optimized keywords and Search Engine Safe URL’s.
- Opt-in Email Marketing Newsletter - There’s no better way to keep in contact with your customers than with a Newsletter published weekly, monthly, or even quarterly.
9. E-Commerce Web Sites
Identify users with their e-mail address. It’s much easier to remember your e-mail address rather than your username.
Break up the ordering process into bite size chunks.
The ordering process can often be quite complex. Users must typically enter a delivery address, choose their delivery method, enter their payment methods and then finally confirm their order. Trying to do all this at once can cause problems because users need to enter so much information.
Breaking the process up into smaller chunks allows users to tackle each step at a time. There's less to think about at each step and less information to enter.
- For example, Amazon breaks the ordering process up into the following steps:
- Login
- Choose delivery address
- Choose delivery options
- Enter payment details
- Review and submit the order
10. Check and Check Again
- Preview your page with different browsers.
- Check on different monitor resolutions. Users don’t like to scroll horizontally.
- Regularly check for bad links.
- Always make sure the Home Page works.
- Most pages should take no longer than 50 seconds to load. Under 30 seconds is preferable.
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