Designing your own business website? Don’t have a design degree? Trying to get that jump start online? Assuming you are a beginner at web design and wanting to kick off your new business, you may need a little direction.
Here are some EASY and helpful tips to get you started.
1.First of all, the most important thing about a web site is the navigation. Basically a navigation bar features the most important links/pages on your web site.
It should be easy to find, it should be the prominent element of your design, and should stand out enough so it doesn’t get lost in the sea of content. People are very impatient on the web, and they will not hang around your site if they cannot find their way around your web site. The most common location of a navigation bar is across the top of your page, and users should NOT have to scroll down to find this main navigation. It is important to use OBVIOUS sections names – they should clearly state what lies behind them. Obscure, general words like “resources” and “tools” should be avoided, as they only lead to users clicking on multiple buttons to find that they are looking for. Be specific in your navigation link titles.
Remind users where they are also. Once a user clicks into a site section, it’s a good idea to remind them where they are by using a consistent method to highlight the section the visitor is in – such as change a color or appearance. If the site has more than one page for section, leave the button clickable so users can use it to get back to the main page of that area.
Here are some examples of clean and successful navigation bars:
2. Less is MORE
I have seen countless numbers of websites that have too many objects on them. Too many content areas, pictures and buttons can dramatically effect the amount of time a viewer is on your site. The viewer should not have ‘too many’ choices. A long list of options keeps the visitor from getting into the most important content areas on your site.
If you have a lot of information, consider using drop down menus and break everything off into sections. Be careful about too many separate navigation bars. These should be clearly defined too. If they aren’t, the viewer won’t know where to look or click. Portfolio web sites, for example, should be very simple.
Here are a few examples of some clean layouts:
3. Keep it consistent
Site navigation should appear in the SAME location on every page of a site every time. It should keep the same style, colors and type – this will allow the users to feel comfortable browsing it. If the navigation disappears on a page or changes colors, frustrated visitors are more likely to go elsewhere.
Every page should have the same sizes/colors/styles on the text. The links should be the same color throughout the whole web site, as well as style. The body text should be consistent on each page, and so on. Buttons are nice to keep consistent as well.
Being consistent throughout your site not only creates great branding to your company but it allows trust and comfort to your visitors when brewing through your web site.
Hopefully these tips will help you in creating your new small business web site.
