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Design Goals of any Web Site |
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1) Efficiency. Decide exactly what it is you want to say, and the best way to go about stating it. Should you develop a straight forward text based site, or one loaded with animation, audio, and video? Having a cluttered web site only portrays an image of sloppiness. 2) Strong company presence. With millions of pages on the web, you'll want to create a single, recognizable graphic image or style that will remain in your visitors mind long after they've left your site. For most, this means incorporating your company logo and/or familiar print material into your design. Make sure to also include your company's mailing address, e-mail, phone, and fax numbers either on every page, or in a easily to find place. Visitors will want to know where your company is in the real world, and this will help to ensure them that your site belongs to an actual company and not a con artist. 3) Easy navigation. A web site shouldn't be a challenge to maneuver, or a riddle to solve. People are looking for information, and if they can't find it at your site, they will at someone else's. Make sure to place navigation links on each page that allows visitors the ability to jump back and forth between the major areas of your site. 4) Loading Time. Due to the fact that your site's visitors are using a variety of different speeds to connect to the Internet, a web site should load as quickly as possible. Images, audio, and video take a long time to download compared to text. For a Web user with a 56k modem, waiting a few minutes for something, is bound to make the user run away from the site. Many interesting visual effects can be created on Web sites that don't take long to download. 5) Update Frequently. According to a report in Internet World magazine, sites that updated their information frequently had more success than those who sporadically updated their site (see more). Posting new information frequently gives visitors a reason to return. Try adding a "What's New" page to your Web site, or adding a small graphic which highlights the new material. 6) User Interaction. One of the advantages web sites have compared to any other type of media, is that it allows users to interact. They can request information at any time they wish, whether you're open for business or not. A web site with no interaction is a site that will lose its visitors to their competition. Different types of interactive elements that can be included into a site are: forms, contests, quizzes, games, and searches. 7) Respond Quickly. Respond as quickly as possible to visitors who ask a question or request further information. If visitors have taken the time to contact you, they should be treated as valued prospects ready to buy. The longer you take responding to them, the greater the chance they'll lose their urgency to buy or use your services, and will go elsewhere. |