Tips For Creating A Website People Will Want To Come Back To
http://www.webmarktools.net/articles/1227/1/Tips-For-Creating-A-Website-People-Will-Want-To-Come-Back-To/Page1.html
Art Gib
Art Gib is a freelance writer. Read more about local Internet marketing and seo blog tactics at http://www.orangesoda.com/resources/marketing-and-your-blog/. Interested in developing an inexpensive custom blog, featuring your own graphics, technical support, and training that will get you started; contact us at the URL above. We'll be happy to get you started. By Art Gib
Published on 06/12/2009
There are five basic parts to creating a website: Title, Format, Content, Color Scheme, and Navigation. If you are new to web design and are unsure where to start to make it a site people will come back to again and again, here is a little more about the five basics to help you get started.
There are five basic parts to creating a website: Title, Format, Content, Color Scheme, and Navigation. If you are new to web design and are unsure where to start to make it a site people will come back to again and again, here is a little more about the five basics to help you get started.
Title
If people are doing a random surf on the net, they are more likely to stop at your site if it has a really original and intriguing title. If you maintain a website about wolves, for example, and call it "Why I Like Wolves," it will not get nearly the attention it might if you called it "Wolves: Yellowstone's Fearsome Predator." Whenever possible, include key words in the title to help with search engine optimization and to help visitors be extra clear about what your website is all about.
Format
Probably a good rule of thumb, especially for beginners, is to create your website in a two-column format. Put the text on the left and the navigation links on the other since the western eye naturally reads in that direction. Putting the navigation on the left will subconsciously make it more difficult for a visitor to understand the information and may turn him off altogether. Pictures and graphics are great, but don't use so many that it takes an inordinately long time for the page to upload. People just aren't use to waiting now the way they used to when dial-up was king. If a visitor has to wait too long, he'll go elsewhere and probably won't come back.
Content
To help increase the chances that your website will rank higher on popular search engines, put keywords throughout the text on your home page. There is a fine line here: too much repetition will alert search engines and rank you lower, but just the right amount will really help! Ask for professional help if you're not sure how to do it right. Put the most important information right there on your home page where people can access it easily: making them search for what they are looking for will turn them off. To make creating and changing the content of your website easier on you, use a plugin such as Joomla! to help make the management of your content as painless as possible.
Color Scheme
Keep it simple here. Acid yellow may be a good accent color, but using it as the wallpaper for your site will look harsh and unwelcoming. The same goes for very busy backgrounds: they may look great on their own, but it will be difficult for a visitor to read your text. Use a simple to read font and make sure there is good ground/figure contrast. For example, if your site's background is dark blue, use white lettering for the text to make it stand out.
Navigation
Make sure your navigation tabs are easy to find, relevant, and useful. People should easily be able to navigate easily from one part of your site to another and then back again. You can put the navigation on the top of the page, on the bottom, or even at the sides: but the most important parts are clarity and ease, and every page should link back to home.
Title
If people are doing a random surf on the net, they are more likely to stop at your site if it has a really original and intriguing title. If you maintain a website about wolves, for example, and call it "Why I Like Wolves," it will not get nearly the attention it might if you called it "Wolves: Yellowstone's Fearsome Predator." Whenever possible, include key words in the title to help with search engine optimization and to help visitors be extra clear about what your website is all about.
Format
Probably a good rule of thumb, especially for beginners, is to create your website in a two-column format. Put the text on the left and the navigation links on the other since the western eye naturally reads in that direction. Putting the navigation on the left will subconsciously make it more difficult for a visitor to understand the information and may turn him off altogether. Pictures and graphics are great, but don't use so many that it takes an inordinately long time for the page to upload. People just aren't use to waiting now the way they used to when dial-up was king. If a visitor has to wait too long, he'll go elsewhere and probably won't come back.
Content
To help increase the chances that your website will rank higher on popular search engines, put keywords throughout the text on your home page. There is a fine line here: too much repetition will alert search engines and rank you lower, but just the right amount will really help! Ask for professional help if you're not sure how to do it right. Put the most important information right there on your home page where people can access it easily: making them search for what they are looking for will turn them off. To make creating and changing the content of your website easier on you, use a plugin such as Joomla! to help make the management of your content as painless as possible.
Color Scheme
Keep it simple here. Acid yellow may be a good accent color, but using it as the wallpaper for your site will look harsh and unwelcoming. The same goes for very busy backgrounds: they may look great on their own, but it will be difficult for a visitor to read your text. Use a simple to read font and make sure there is good ground/figure contrast. For example, if your site's background is dark blue, use white lettering for the text to make it stand out.
Navigation
Make sure your navigation tabs are easy to find, relevant, and useful. People should easily be able to navigate easily from one part of your site to another and then back again. You can put the navigation on the top of the page, on the bottom, or even at the sides: but the most important parts are clarity and ease, and every page should link back to home.