Do’s and Dont’s in Designing a Website
When it comes to designing your web site, there are some definite dos and don’ts to be considered. While things such as templates and WYSIWYGs (What You See Is What You Get – design software that lets you see the finished page as you design it) make it seem simple to create your site, these don’t take some vital things into account. You might end up designing a site that no one but your family and friends will ever see.
Before you begin the design
Before you ever begin the actual design of your site, there are some issues to address. First, you really do need to brainstorm the exact goal of your site. If you are planning on selling a product then you need to be thinking about who your target audience will be and how best to sell to them. Even if your site is not for business purposes, knowing who you want to attract to your site is essential.
Write out your text. What you say is more important than any other element of your site. You need to have text that is easy to understand and succinct. Use the fewest words possible to explain your site and what its purpose is. Check and then re-check things like spelling and grammar. Nothing will put a visitor to your site off quicker than misspelled words.
Building the site
The actual design of your site involves a lot more than just putting up your text and your pictures. You need to have navigation that is easy and understandable. You have to have things coded correctly, such as alt tags. You have to have a good keyword density but not overdo them. The pages need to load quickly, which means optimizing any images. Making your site ready for search engines has a lot of steps and is essential if you are going to get traffic to your site.
You really need to do your homework and learn all you can about design, coding and search engine optimization. If this all seems a bit overwhelming to you, then you really need to consider leaving it to a professional.