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Just some things to think
about
What is the site about?
When visiting a web site the first thing a user should know is what the site is about.
When the first thing one sees is a link exchange banner or other advertisement. It may appear that it is not very
important to you that the user stays on your site. Think about it! You worked so hard to get someone to your page
and the first thing they see is sign that says CLICK HERE TO LEAVE! Try to use a logo with a sub title that says
what your company does! Put the banner ads a little lower on the page!
Sound files
Sound files can be a major distraction when loaded upon start up! Besides the extra bandwidth used downloading
them, they tend to catch the user off guard. First, music is a very personal thing, and chances are that the majority
of users will not have share your tastes . Second, many people kill time at work surfing the net. They are often
oblivious as to how loud the volume may be set, until, the music starts and the boss and coworkers eyes and ears
surround your workstation. Third, sum people are on-line late at night, and waking up someone's entire family will
not win your web site any points.
Ad Banners
Again, ad banners should not be the first one sees and should not be over used. The exception is, of course, paid
advertisements. Web sites are for making money and I do not discourage that. However, I feel banner exchange programs
tend to be very unproductive.
Clip art
Clip art is something that a lot of people talk about on web sites. It does not contain a high number of colors
and many think it looks cheep.
Layout
Avoid the linear approach to layout! What I mean is keep your web site tight and use every vertical and horizontal
inch. The best way to explain is USE TABLES! If there are 3 different images I prefer to look at them horizontally
and not vertically. All objects on a web page placed in vertical order means lots of scrolling! People usually
don't take the time to scroll.
Margins
Try to emulate magazines and newspapers with your web pages. Don't let your text run from end to end of a page.
You can obtain margins in 2 ways, tables or style sheets
Under construction
This is a big annoyance to web surfers. You find a web page in a search engine that finally looks like what you
want. You go to this web page and you see UNDER CONSTRUCTION! It's a bad move to use these words anywhere on a
web site.
Backgrounds
Make sure your backgrounds ain't overly loud. They can make text very hard to read and most people won't take the
effort.
Consistency
Consistency - be consistent with your design. Do not have a different background or different theme on every page.
Think Style! |
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