Partner Article

Five Web Design Tips

Five Web Design Tips for Online Success

Many, many years ago, the buzz was that what you really needed to get ahead in business was a website. At the time when the Internet was still shiny and new, that may well have been the case. But today every business, no matter how big or small, has a website. So how do you stay ahead of the competition? The answer still lies with your website, but the key to unlocking its potential is with a killer web design that sets it apart from the rest. Here we take a look at five things to keep in mind when planning and carrying out your web design strategies.

1 Know thy users

In order to design a website that is optimised for your users, you need to know who they are. You can probably work much of this out from the products or services you sell, but carry out additional market research where needed. Important things to know include ?How technically proficient are our users at using the Internet?? ?How much time are they willing to invest in using a single website?? and ?What is most important to them when purchasing products online or utilising web-based services??

2 Make your web design as individual as your brand

Having a website that looks good and fulfils its purpose is essential for online business, but you also should also make sure that it is distinctive and a unique reflection of your brand. Don?t just go for what?s ?in? or what worked well for your competitors; go for what suits your business best and fits in with your brand image.

3 Be as accessible as possible for mobile AND desktop users

It?s true that mobile Internet usage is growing rapidly, and you should definitely aim to provide content tailored to smart phone and tablet PC users. But at present, the vast majority of Internet browsing is either done on a desktop PC or a laptop, so don?t ignore the usability of these more traditional ?fixed? web users either. An ideal solution is to have two different versions of your site.

4 Remember to KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid)

Your website should be attractive but uncluttered. Lots of fancy graphics, buttons and interactive features might seem like a good idea, but always ask yourself if such things are actually useful to the user, or if they are an unnecessary distraction.

5 Make Sure Navigation is easy and intuitive

Above all, your business? site should be easy to use, and simple to navigate. Web users get frustrated easily if a click doesn?t do what they expect it to. Two wasted clicks and they?re having doubts. Three and they?re gone.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jon Celeste .