Web Design Tips
Part I of this series presented an overview of concepts in web design principles used in web development. This article expands on and adds to these and is intended more for those whose specific responsibilities are web development. Good web design is critical in business branding strategies, such as food photography, print writing, and having a logo designer, are universally accepted design practices that should be closely followed to capitalize on branding methodologies.
In the previous article, I used the example of a company in Austin, Texas who sells western wear. This article will continue with this example to draw specific parallels to the web design principles being outlined. As you can imagine, the state of Texas would be the premiere area for western retail stores, thus making it highly competitive. Stores located in smaller areas, such as in Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park, or even Austin Tx must find strategic ways to gain market shares. The key to this is through their websites. A poorly designed site most assuredly results in lost customers and sales. Good web design ensures even smaller companies in Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park, or Austin Tx can effectively compete with similar businesses in Texas or elsewhere using Austin seo foundations. In the south, is a growing industry, as part of the marketing boom of Austin Texas web design and remains a great place for seo to thrive.
Now let’s get down to some basics of web development:
• Navigation – As mentioned in Part I, every page on your site should be linked. Here are a few more tips:
o Employ commonly used menu options and clearly identifiable labels at the top of every page , such as About Us, Our Products, Our Services, Company Profile, Store Locator.
o Use the right or left side of the page to link to any other interesting information on your site. For example, visitors living in or around Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park, or Austin Tx might be interested in local events in these areas. This helps with branding by providing a little added value and encouraging visitors to return.
o Check for broken links. When links do not work correctly, it creates a credibility issue.
• Organizing information on a page – Tables are an excellent and efficient way to display and organize information on a web page. For example, a company in Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park, or Austin Tx could use a table for their western wear product information, such as description, qty on hand, & pricing, to present a nicely organized and easy to read format.
• Easy to read & professional formats – Image is everything to a company’s branding. Therefore, consider the following web development standards:
Fonts: Only a few font combinations are considered “web acceptable” for most
browser types. Sans-serif fonts are highly recommended for easier reading.
Use these: Arial, Helvetica
Verdana, Arial
Geneva, Arial, Helvetica
Times New Roman is the common default
Color: Nothing will cause a visitor from Texas to click out of your site quicker than a
blinding bright pink or a clashing lime green color scheme. Make sure you
research web safe colors. Above all, use aesthetically pleasing colors
that, for branding purposes, identify your company’s logo.
The greatest piece of advice for professional web development is to consider your target audience. If you are trying to attract customers for western wear who live in Texas, or more specifically in Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park, or Austin Tx, do your research and be sure to check out the competition. Also note the need for ephemera in your future endevours.