It is easy to make a bad website, but it’s just as easy to make a clean, professional-looking Website by following the guidelines below.
Text
- Background does not interrupt the text
- Text is big enough to read, but not too big
- The hierarchy of information is perfectly clear
- Columns of text are narrower than those in a book to make reading easier.
Navigation
- Navigation buttons and bars are easy to understand and use
- Navigation is consistent throughout website
- A large site has an index or site map
Links
- Link colors coordinate with page colors
- Links are underlined so they are instantly clear to the visitor
Graphics
- Buttons are not excessively big
- Every graphic has an alt label
- Every graphic link has a matching text link
- Graphics and backgrounds use browser-safe colors
- Animated graphics turn off by themselves
General Design
- Pages load quickly
- First page and home page fit into 800 x 600 pixel space
- All of the other pages have immediate visual impact within 800 x 600 pixels
- Good use of elements (photos and subheads) to break up large areas of text
- Every web page in the site looks like it belongs to the same site; there is consistency throughout pages
For more information visit mckinleymediagroup.com, sterlingmckinley.com, or read Sterling McKinley’s column at The Examiner.
View original article at: http://mckinleymediagroup.com/elements-of-good-website-design.html
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Filed under: Business Advice, Website Design
